Love Me Like You Do
by XxI-Stole-Your-CookiexX
Summary: Being an awkward American and moving to Liverpool to live with her best friend, even under horrible circumstances, life seems to be good for Melissa King. But she's never had the best of luck with guys, or anything really, and Thomas is just proving that point. But when her and her best friend meet the fab four, will things finally take a turn for the better? Beatle/OC R&R :
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**(I'm going to apologize in advance for any mistakes I make regarding to things that happened in history, or if I get any dates wrong, or whatnot. Although I am a huge Beatles fan, I am just a fifteen year old girl, so I don't know everything, hahah)**

**xXxXx**

"'Ello everybody, we've arrived in Liverpool, and we'll be landing in five minutes. We hope you enjoy your stay here, and thank you for flying with us."

The thick British accent crackling over the intercom was enough to bring me out of my nap. Well that, and the two very rude boys that sat behind me. Throughout my whole flight from California, they've done nothing but whine, fight, and kick the back of my seat.

Glad to finally get off the flying death contraption, I hurried off the plane as soon as the doors were opened. Luckily I dressed casual, so it was easy to run past all the ladies who decided proper attire for flying was a fancy dress and heels that I would surely break my neck in if I even tried to take a step.

I stepped out into the large area where people were bustling about, trying to find their luggage, friends, family, or all of the above. I stopped walking after a few steps and just looked around. Sadness washed over me as I realized that this was the first time I've ever come to this airport by myself. Suddenly, I didn't feel like the independent nineteen year old girl I did when I first started my journey. I felt little again, and I longed for my parent's presence.

I sighed and tried to regain my somewhat happiness, but the sad feeling never left as I made my way towards the luggage pickup area. I stood tapping my foot rather impatiently, waiting for my familiar large blue suitcase and dufflebag to come into view. Finally, after about five minutes of standing next to a rather large, foul smelling man, my bags came into view. Grabbing them as quickly as possible, I hurried off into the direction of the food court. Knowing Kathleen, that's where she would be, waiting for me.

I smiled at the thought of seeing my best friend again. It had been around this time last year when I last saw her, as my family and I came to visit every year in the summer. Her parents were my Godparents, and my parent's best friends. My parents had been friends with Robin and Michael Terry long before I was born, and managed to keep up the good friendship even after they moved to America to have me. Kathleen and I managed to stay in touch by writing and phone calls. It wasn't as good as being with her in person, but it was enough.

I wished that this was one of my annual trips, and I would only be staying for two weeks as usual, but it wasn't. This time, I wasn't just staying for two weeks, I was staying for who knows how long. And although I should be excited to be living with my very best friend, the circumstances were horrible.

I was coming to stay with my best friend because my parents had recently died, because my house had caught on fire. The roof had caved in on them as they slept, killing them even before help could arrive. Me being the reasonable person I am, decided to hurry and save as much of my personal belongings as I could.

I phoned Robin and Michael from a small motel room to tell them of the news, and they insisted that I fly down to Liverpool immediately. Apparently Kathleen had her own flat down there, and I wasn't fit to be living on my own just yet. Just barely having enough money for a third class ticket to Liverpool, I was on a flight the next day. I would have waited, but there was going to be no funeral for my parents, because there were really no remains left after another pipe caught fire and the house literally blew to pieces. Luckily we didn't live in the city, so no other areas were affected by that.

I guess you could say that reality still hadn't set in all the way, because as I made my way through the airport looking for my best friend, the sadness disappeared and I began to get excited. I shouldn't be getting excited; my parents had died just a few days ago!

"Mel! Mel! MELISSA!" I heard someone call over all the voices. Turning my head, I could see a slender girl dressed in a cute, bright dress running towards me. A smile immediately spread onto my face and I began running awkwardly towards her as well, dragging my luggage behind me. When I reached her I threw my arms around her and embraced her tightly.

"Kat! I missed you so much, it's been forever!"

She giggled and nodded. "I know! Now I'm going to have to get used to your voice all over again.."

I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, I know how you feel! I'm awkwardly American."

"Well," she started as she grabbed my duffle and swung it over her shoulder, "I bet a lot of guys will find that attractive," she winked at me. Again, I rolled my eyes as we began making our way to the exit.

"Boys are the last thing on my mind right now, doll," I told her. Her face immediately dropped, and she looked at me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I completely forg-"

I smiled slightly at her and cut her off. "It's okay. Don't feel bad."

We walked outside, and I was immediately hit with the cooler weather of London. Kathleen was used to it, but me coming from California.. It was a change. Luckily, her red car was parked right outside the exit, so I didn't have to stand outside for long.

"How are you so.. calm, about everything?" She asked as she popped the trunk and began putting my luggage in. I just shrugged. I honestly didn't know.

"I guess reality hasn't fully hit me yet. I keep thinking that I'm just here for a two week visit like every year. Don't worry though, it'll hit me soon enough. I can just tell."

Kat gave me a sad look as she got into the driver's side. Sighing, I clambered into the small car and laid my head back on the cushiony seat. Closing my eyes, I realized how tired I was, and how jetlagged I probably was going to be later.

I didn't realize I had dozed off until I was jolted awake by the sudden stop of the car. Rubbing my eyes, I noticed we were in front of a brick flat.

"Alright you lazy bum, time to get up. Mum and dad are anxious to see you, and I'm sure they've got dinner on the table," Kat said as she got out. I groaned. Not that I didn't want to see my Godparents, I just didn't want to get up. I really just wanted to sleep.

I was nearly tackled by the two adults when I walked in the door. I was immediately bombarded with questions and words of condolences and whatnot. Trying to keep up with everything was hard, because it seemed just as I would start answering a question, they would ask another one.

"Guys, guys! You're worse than me!" Kat finally said, placing a hand on both of her parent's chest and pushing them back a little. "Give the girl some space, I mean she just got in."

Robin nodded, smiling. "It's just that we've missed you so much Melissa. And we're really going to miss.." she stopped there, and gave me a look.

I nodded, understanding. "I'm really going to miss them too.." I whispered.

The three of them embraced me in a hug, and I smiled slightly, knowing that I wasn't going through this alone.

Much later, after dinner and a few hours of catching up, Robin and Michael finally decided it was time for them to head back to their house. Robin pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. "I know things seem hard right now love, but you're not alone. Ring us if you need anything, alright?"

I nodded and smiled up at the woman. She gave me one last smile before heading out the door. Michael embraced me and kissed my forehead and followed his wife. Once they were both gone and in their car, Kat grinned mischievously at me.

"Well, the parents are gone.. Want to throw a homecoming party? I could get a decent number of people here, and I have some-"

"Nah, not tonight Kat, sorry. I'm just really tired from the plane ride and all. Maybe some other time, okay?" I asked, cutting her off.

Kat nodded, smiled and then walked off into her room. I sighed, finally glad to be able to sleep, and found the room I would be staying it. It was a cute little room, decorated colorfully. The bed was defiantly the biggest piece of furniture in the room, and I plopped down on top of it gratefully. Not even bothering to change out of my day clothes, I curled up under the covers and was surprisingly asleep within minutes.

**xXxXx**

"C'mon Mel, _please_! You live here now; you may as well make some friends!" Kathleen said, grabbing my hand. I bit my lip and tried to walk away.

"Kat, I'm just not really in the mood to be social right now.." It was true. Reality was starting to kick in, and I was slowly beginning to realize that my parents were gone. I expected my friend to get testy with me, but she pulled me into a hug instead.

"I understand Mel. But I think that maybe this will help get everything off your mind. Plus, I reeeaalllyy want you to meet Roger," she grinned at me. I sighed, she was never going to take no for an answer.

She seemed to know this, and her smile widened. "I'll go phone Roger right now!" She clapped excitedly and ran off into the direction of the family room. Running a hand through my hair, I decided to take a shower.

The warm shower gave me time to think, and all my thoughts went back to the fire.

_Why them? Why my parents? What had they ever done to deserve that? I should have gone with them. It was all my fault, I shouldn't have been so careless.. all my fault. _

Tasting something salty on my lips and knowing that water doesn't taste like that, I realized that I had begun to cry. And once I realized that, I couldn't stop. I slowly slid down the slippery wet wall and wrapped my arms around my knees. I sat there, sobs wracking my body, and water beating down on my back.

The water eventually began to get cold, so I decided it was time to get out. I turned off the water and walked to my room, towel wrapped around my body. Drying myself off, I attempted to pick out a somewhat nice outfit for today. I decided finally on a yellow waist high skirt and a white sleeveless shirt. I had just finished tucking my shirt into my skirt when I heard voices downstairs.

"Oh yes, Melissa will be down in a few minutes. Come on, there's tea in the kitchen," I heard Kathleen say.

_Well they sure got here fast, _I thought to myself. Rushing around my room, I just decided to throw up my wet hair in a messy side bun quickly. Not even bothering to slip on shoes, I ran downstairs. The living room was empty, so I walked into the kitchen. Kat was in the middle of saying something, but when I made myself present she stopped talking and smiled.

"Mel!" she squealed, running over to me. The three other people at the table turned their heads towards me, and my face turned a little pink from all the attention. Two rather good looking guys sat at the table, munching on cookies.

"Guys, this is Melissa. She's going to be living with me for now on!" She said excitedly. The two guys smiled at me, making me turn a darker shade of pink. They stood up and walked over to where Kat and I stood. The dark haired one wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled at me.

"I'm Roger, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, sticking out his hand. I shook it and gave him a smile. The other boy, more attractive with his blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, gave me a dashing smile as well.

"Thomas," he said simply, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his lips. I giggled and looked away, letting my light brown hair cover my face.

Peeking through my hair I could see Kathleen give Roger a knowing look, and he pulled her closer to him, laughing.

After an awkward silence, Kat coughed, then clapped her hands. "Well, now that we've gotten ourselves acquainted, why don't I make some lunch!"

The boys seemed to love this idea, and they jumped up and down with excitement. Kat rolled her eyes, but smiled and headed over to the stove and started to make who knows what. I took a seat at the table and fumbled with my hands awkwardly.

I was never the best at actually meeting people, but once I got to know them and got comfortable.. well, I was a completely different person.

Chairs squeaked around me, and I looked up to see Thomas taking the seat next to me, and Roger sitting across from me.

"So tell us Melissa, why are you staying with our dear friend Kathleen?" Roger asked, his accent enough to make any girl squeal. I played with a piece of my hair and looked up at him.

"Erm, family stuff. It's a bit personal actually. I'd rather like to not talk about it," I told them quietly.

"Is that an American accent I hear?" Thomas asked, resting chin on his hand and flashing me a boyish smile. I nodded.

"I'm from America. California, to be exact," I told them, smiling a bit.

"Are all American girls as beautiful as you?" He asked, flashing me another boyish grin. I blushed deeply at that comment, and tried to contain my giggles. Thomas really was quite the looker, and the fact that he was making eyes at me.. well, I felt pretty good.

"Come on now, you've just met the chick and you're already hitting on her?" Roger asked, shaking his head, but laughing all the same. Thomas just winked at me.

"Who said I didn't like it?" I asked Roger as leaned back into my chair, smirking. Roger and Thomas's eyes widened, and I heard Kat snort from the stove.

"Defiantly was not expecting that!" Roger exclaimed, laughing. I shrugged, my grin getting wider.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," I said simply as I began to examine my chipped nails. I looked up, and Thomas's eyes met mine.

"Well I'd certainly love to find out more about you, that's for sure."

This time, Kat burst out into laughter, and Roger just shook his head. "Wow, get a room you guys."

I just laughed, but Thomas stood up. "You know what, maybe we will!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my chair. "Come on Mel, let's elope, so they'll never be able to find us!" He declared in an overdramatic voice. I laughed and looked at Kat. She just winked at me and laughed. I found myself being pulled out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into a room that just so happened to be mine. Thomas flung himself onto my bed and then sat upright into a sitting position. He smirked at me, and I just rolled my eyes.

"They probably think we're in here shagging," he said, laughing. I shook my head.

"Nah, Kat knows I would never do the dirty with someone I just met."

Thomas looked thoughtful for a minute. "So does that mean I have to actually take you out on a date?"

I grinned awkwardly. "Funny."

"Oh I was being serious, doll."

I just laughed awkwardly, not really knowing how to respond to that. There was an awkward silence, until Thomas decided to finally break it.

"So I take it this is where you'll be sleeping, seeing as there's an unpacked suitcase on the floor and the room has yet to be decorated?" He stood up and walked over to my suitcase. I nodded, eyeing him carefully.

"I'll help you unpack, doll. You have lots of clothes, and maybe when you finish, we can have some fun." He winked at me. Again, I stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

"Surree… Uhm, I'm going to go to the restroom, excuse me for a minute." Thomas just nodded and began to pull out blouses from my suitcase. I left the room quickly.

I returned to the room after doing my erm.. business, and was greeted by a very odd sight. I stood frozen in the doorway, half shocked, half creeped out.

"Thomas, what are you doing?" I asked slowly, as he held a pair of my panties to his nose.

Thomas jerked up and quickly threw the undergarments into a dresser drawer. "Unpacking your clothing doll, what does it look like?"

I still stood there, shocked. Deciding to just ignore what I just saw, I walked over and helped him unpack my clothes, making sure he didn't get his hands on another undergarment again.

Time seem to fly by, and after we packed, we just sat on my bed, talking. I found out that he lived alone, but his parents and younger sister lived in London. He wanted to do something with science when he got the chance, he loved playing the guitar, and much more. I found myself opening up to him too, probably a little more than I should have. I told him about the fire, and about my parents, and when he asked how it had happened, I told him. I actually told him.

He embraced my when I cried, and didn't say a word. By then, I had forgotten all about the incident that happened earlier, I just cared that he seemed like a sweet guy. He seemed to really care about me, and even though we had just met that day, I really liked him already. Were we moving too fast? Hell yeah. Did I care? Nope, not at all.

I guess you could say I just wanted someone to hold me and tell me everything would be alright, and that's what he did. I honestly thought he was the sweetest man on the earth, just because of one small thing.

But after a month of dating him, boy did I find out how wrong I fucking was.

**Okay so yeah, this is a pretty bad first chapter, and it didn't even have the boys it it! It was pretty much just a filler chapter, so that's why I didn't go much into detail with stuff. And yes, I am very aware Melissa and Thomas's "relationship" is moving wayyy too fast. That's how I wanted it. Plus, I've read fanfics where the girls are confessing their undying love for the boys within the first chapter, so this is nothing! The boys will defiantly be in the next chapter, and any questions you have will be cleared up. Please stick with me here, I promise it'll be worth it (or at least I hope it will!) So review and tell me whatcha think so far! Or just somehow prove that you're willing to stick around to read the next chapter :P It should be out in a few days! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**xXxXx**

"It's a nice day out today, would you like to go to the park?"

I looked up from my book, tired. "Hm?"

Thomas sighed, obviously annoyed. "I asked if you wanted to go to the park. But obviously if you don't care enough to listen, we can just sit at home on our arses all day."

"Sorry," I mumbled, "this book is so good though! Its abou-"

"I don't give a shit what it's about. I'm going out. Maybe while I'm gone I can find a girl that'll actually want to do something with me, instead of reading," he said, standing up. I put my book down and tried to ignore the feeling of hurt that hit me.

"I went out with you every day this week, and every night!" I exclaimed, starting to get angry. "I just thought it might be nice to have a day to relax for once."

Thomas ignored me and walked to the door. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"Fine, I hope you shag a bimbo and catch something.." I muttered to myself. Thomas stopped walking, and turned sharply towards me.

"What did you just say?" He asked slowly.

Shit. I didn't plan on him hearing that. "Uh.. Nothing. Have fun."

But he wasn't in the mood to let it go that easily. He walked briskly over to me and grabbed my arm roughly. His nails dug into my skin, making me squirm uncomfortably. "Tell me what you said."

"I-I said I'll miss you, dear!" I leaned in to kiss his cheek. Instead, I felt his hand collide against my cheek, and a tingling sensation spread across my face. Tears immediately stung my eyes as Thomas scowled at me.

"Lying bitch. Sometimes I wonder why I still put up with your shit and let you live with me." And with that, he was out the door. I ran a hand through my hair and sat down in a chair. Placing my head on the table, I started to cry.

Why did he put up with my shit? No, why did I put up with his shit? He always did this. He always got angry too easily and overreacted. And that wasn't the first time he's ever hit me. Actually, I got off pretty easy compared to some days. The night I refused to have sex with him… Let's just be glad people at the hospital are gullible and my friends know I'm clumsy.

We had been dating for about a month when he asked me to move in with him. I thought it was way too soon, but Roger wanted Kat to move in with him, so I really wouldn't have had any place to stay. Reluctantly, I moved in with him. Back then, it wasn't as bad. Back then we were sort of happy. His anger wasn't as bad. But as time went on, he got more overprotective and more angry. Our arguments would get worse, and I still remember the first reason he hit me.

We were at a club one night, and he was off getting drinks or whatever, and I was talking to some nice guy that accidentally bumped into me. He was telling me about his wife and how they were expecting their first child soon. Thomas came over, saw the man, and immediately flipped out. I tried to calm him down, but he wasn't listening. I think he was a tad bit blitzed that night. Or at least that's what I like to tell myself.

Being dragged out of my thoughts by the sound of the telephone ringing, I sighed and stood up. I barely had time to put it up to my ear when I heard my best friend squeal from the other side of the line.

"OH MY GOD. MELISSA KING. YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT I JUST FOUND OUT."

I had to hold the phone a few inches from my face to avoid going deaf. "Christ Kat, calm down. I'd like to be able to hear a few years from now, ya know. What is it?"

I heard her insane giggling, but for the most part she seemed to stop breathing so rapidly. "The Beatles! They're going to be performing at the tavern I work at! TONIGHT. My boss rang earlier and told me the good news!" She exclaimed. I broke out into a smile. I knew how much she loved the Beatles! And I had to admit, they were a pretty good band. They had only formed just two years ago in 1960 and already, they were on their way to big things. Or so I had heard.

"That's great! I bet you're stoked!" I said, laughing at the image of my best friend freaking out. I could practically see her happy dance through the phone.

"Oh you betcha I am! I get to get into the performance for free because I have to work! But wait, there's more!" She said, doing a good impression of the salesmen I sometimes see on the telly.

I laughed. "What could possibly make this even better?"

"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" She practically screamed. I stood there, dumbfounded. How?

"But Kat, I don't have a ticket, how wi-"

"I stole a waitress's uniform from the closet, I'm going to sneak you in. It'll be so hectic my boss won't even know it! Please say you'll come! Please, _plleaassee_!" She whined over the phone. I laughed.

"Of course! I wouldn't pass up the chance to see a great band live!"

I heard her squeal from happiness and laughed again. "Alright! Come over _now, _we have a lot of prepping to do my friend!"

I bit my lip nervously and looked around. "Thomas just left.. I don't think I should just leave.."

I heard Kat scoff. "Just leave a note! I'm sure he won't mind."

_Oh he'll mind.. Whatever. I can deal with him later._

"Alright. I'll be there in fifteen!" I heard Kat squeal again, then she hung up. Chuckling I put the phone back into its cradle. Running to my room, I grabbed my purse. I didn't feel it was necessary to change because I would be wearing a waitress's uniform anyways. Grabbing a notepad and a pen I walked to the kitchen table.

_Thomas,_

_Out with Kat tonight. Don't know when I'll be home. Don't bother waiting up._

I ripped off the paper from the pad and stuck it on the table. Giving it one last nervous glance I headed out the door, excitement growing with every step.

**xXxXx**

"This is so gear Mel! I can't believe this is actually happening!" My best friend squealed next to me as we sat at a table, awaiting the arrival of the four Beatles. We were surrounded by girls, all chatting and looking as eager as the next as they sipped on their beverage and awaited impatiently as well. And what they lacked in clothing, they made up for in hairspray and makeup. Needless to say, I felt very.. ordinary in my red and white waitress dress and black apron. Although, Kat did manage to work wonders and make my hair look gorgeous. My light brown hair, that I usually just wore naturally, was attacked by a hairdryer until it was completely straight. Then, it was attacked by hair curlers and hairspray, making the tips of my hair curly and very bouncy. She pinned back my bangs so they made a cute little bump.

"This is pretty awesome!" I agreed excitedly. _And it better be worth it for all the trouble we went through to get me in here_! I thought.

Our plan seemed simple when she was explaining it to me, but it turned out to be harder than she thought. Kat had to go in five minutes before I did so she could distract her boss. I had to sneak in, making sure to not be seen by _anybody_ and clean tables with my back turned and head down at all times. The only time I could let my guard down was when people started to show up and the boss was whisked away with stuff he needed to take care of.

Kat opened her mouth to say something else, but the whole tavern suddenly erupted into cheer. Looking up, I saw a man walk on stage, followed by three others. They all waved cheerily at the crowd, saying stuff I couldn't make out.

One of the four, I didn't know his name or any of the others for that matter, walked up to the microphone. He said something that I once again, could not hear because of the crowd. Taking a small bow, he backed up to the microphone. The crowd silenced and the guitar started playing.

_I love you, 'cause you tell me things I want to know.__  
__And it's true that it really only goes to show,__  
__That I know,__  
__That I, I, I, I should never, never, never be blue._

The song sounded vaguely familiar, and I found myself swaying to the beat. Looking over, I saw Kat was getting into the music just as much as I was. I laughed and closed my eyes, letting the music take me away. All too soon, the song ended. Looking up, I saw the singer taking a few steps back, and the bass player that had recently stood to the right of him walk up to the microphone. He smiled at everyone, and starting plucking the strings of his bass.

_I, I saw a girl in my dreams__  
And so it seems that I will love her__  
Oh you, you are that girl in my dreams__  
And so it seems that I will love you_

I found myself smiling as I watched this man perform. The faces he made while singing were absolutely hilarious. He would raise his eyebrows and smile as he sang, showing that he truly enjoyed what he was doing. He bobbed along with the beat, and turned his head to smile at the man who played the guitar next to him. __

And I waited for your kiss_  
Waited for the bliss__  
Like dreamers do_

I found myself really liking this song, because this man's voice.. it was really something. The girls around me slowly got louder and eventually drowned out the music. The singer seemed to enjoy this as he began to smile even wider and wink at the crowd, making many girls swoon.

That song ended, and all too soon, the whole show ended as well. The band thanked everyone and walked off the stage, leaving everyone screaming and jumping up and down. Finally everyone calmed down, and the place was eventually empty, save for the employees.. and me.

We were all ordered to clean up the messes that the crowd had rudely left, so not wanting to look suspicious, I helped as well. After about an hour of cleaning, the boss told us all to come over to where he stood for a second.

There were about seven or eight of us, the cooks and kitchen staff included. We all waited eagerly to see what the boss had to say. I made sure to keep my head down.

"I know you're all tired and overwhelmed, and you all probably want to go home, buutttt, you can't. Why can't you? Because. The Beatles want to have dinner. Here." He said, smiling widely at us.

Everyone immediately started freaking out, and then fights broke out over who would be waiting the table that the four would be sitting at. It was starting to get pretty loud, until the boss stepped in.

"STOP!" He shouted. Everybody did just that, and looked at him. "_I_ will decided which one of you guys are lucky enough to serve them. And I pick….. you."

Everyone turned and looked at me, and I looked up, shocked. "M-me?" I was nervous that he was going to figure out that I don't work here. But he just smiled at me, not even seeming to notice I had no idea what the hell I was doing, nor that I was not one of his workers.

"Go on then! Hurry, they'll be back shortly! In the meantime, everybody else in the kitchen!" He ordered, disappearing in the kitchen as well. I stood there, looking at Kat.

"Uh.. Kat, I have no idea how to be a waitress. You have to do it!" I exclaimed, grabbing onto her hand. She grinned at me.

"No problem!"

A wave of relief washed over me. "Thanks, you're a lifesaver Kat!"

A few minutes later, Kat's face lit up and she started to jump up and down. "There they are! Eep, there they are!" She whispered, clutching onto my arm. I laughed at her expression, but couldn't help but feel a bit giddy to be so close to the four men myself.

They took a seat at a table relatively close to where we stood and smiled at us. Kat's grip on my arm tightened, and she squealed quietly again.

"Alright, here I go, wish me luck!" She whispered. I smiled at my friend as she pushed off the bar counter she leaned on. But just as she was about to take her first step, we heard a voice from the kitchen.

"Kathleen! We need you back here! NOW!"

Kat froze and turned to me, who was just as frozen. She turned around and looked at me.

"Looks like this is up to you!" She gave me an apologetic look. I glanced at the boys nervously.

"Bu-but I have no idea what to say! What should I say? I don't know how to do this! Kat, I can't!"

"Yes you can, you have to!"

I shook my head, and groaned as the voice called from the kitchen again. "KATHLEEN!"

Kat glared over my shoulder. "COMING!" She looked back at me and placed her hands on either of my shoulders. "You can do it. Just act cool. Like you've done it a million times." And with that and a wink, she ran back to the kitchen.

I looked at the table where the guys were, and was shocked to see them glancing my way. They turned away though when they saw I was looking, and started a conversation. I took a big breath and grabbed the notepad waitresses took orders with and walked over to their table. As I approached, they all smiled at me.

I opened my mouth, but only a squeak came out, making me close it shut again. One of them sniggered quietly, and I blushed. I didn't say anything for a minute or two, I just stood there looking like an idiot.

"Well," one said, breaking the silence, "are you going to take me order, or are ya gonna stand there like a loony?"

The four broke out into laughter, making me blush deeper. I was being an idiot!

"Awh John, don't be so hard on the bird. She's obviously scared," the one with the big nose said. I silently thanked him with a small smile, and he returned the favor.

"S-sorry.. Uhm, what can I get you guys to.. to drink? Yeah! To drink!" I exclaimed out loud, proud of myself for remembering to ask for drinks first. John gave me a look, then turned back to his friends.

"Looks like we've got ourselves an American bird here! What are the odds!" His friends nodded and laughed again.

"What's a pretty American like yourself doing in a place like this?" One asked. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was the bass player with the lovely voice.

"U-uh, I'm living with my best friend down here in Liverpool for awhile. Lots of reasons, I guess." I said quietly. He nodded and gave me a warm smile, making me smile. A loud bang from the kitchen made me remember what I was supposed to be doing.

"So uh yeah, about those drinks.." I asked awkwardly, fumbling with the pen and pad. They all ordered sodas (which surprised me at first, until John revealed that they would save the booze for a little later), and I hurried off to get them. Grabbing the bottles of pop they wanted, I poured them into plastic cups with ice to keep them cold. Somehow managing to actually pull off carrying four cups at once, I made my way over to the table. I set down three of the pops, and I was about to set down the fourth when it somehow managed to slip out of my grasp. It landed of the floor and the pop splashed everywhere.

"O-oh my goodness! I'm _so _sorry! Let me go get you another one, and a napkin to clean that up with!" I hurried off and got another drink and a handful of napkins. This time around I put the pop down on the table without spilling it (much) and got down on my knees and wiped up the pop. Standing up, I sighed.

"Not the most graceful waitress, are ya doll?" John asked, chuckling. I laughed dryly.

"I'm not even a waitress," I muttered to myself. I heard a laugh and looked to see the bass player grinning.

"What do you mean you're not a waitress?" He asked, the grin never leaving his face. Damn it. I really need to mutter more quietly.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "It's a long story."

John scooted his chair over, leaned back and grabbed a chair from the other table, and swung it over to the new space between him and the bass player. "Take a seat love, we've got all night."

I hesitated for a moment, but when he patted the seat, I figured it couldn't hurt. I glanced back nervously, and then took the seat. The boys all smiled at me.

"So what's your name, love?" One asked. He hadn't spoken up all night, so I was shocked at his kindness. I fumbled with my hands.

"Uh, Melissa. Melissa King," I said quietly. He nodded and smiled again.

"That's a pretty name!" I smiled at him for his complement. John grinned at me.

"So I suppose you know who we are then?" he asked.

"Uh.. actually, I don't. I only moved here two months ago. I mean, I've heard of you guys, though," I explained, trying not to sound rude. None of them seemed offended though, thankfully.

"Well then, guess we'll have to introduce ourselves. I'm Paul McCartney, that there is the cocky John Lennon, and across the table we have George Harrison and Ringo Starr," Paul pointed out each person when he said their name. We all smiled at shook hands.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted, hows about you tell us how we got a fake waitress on this lovely evening, hm?" John said, resting his chin on his hand and batting his eyelashes at me. I laughed, feeling a bit more comfortable around these boys.

I explained my story to them, and they found it fairly amusing that me and my friend would go through all that trouble just to see them. I made a point to tell them that what we did was nothing compared to what some girls would have done.

"As a matter of fact, we've been sitting here for quite a while. I should probably get your orders so the boss doesn't go ape on me," I said, standing up. I took their orders and was about to leave the table, when someone grabbed my arm.

"When you get done with that, make sure to come back and chat again. You're an interesting bird, Melissa King," Paul said, giving me a dashing smile that made my inner girl go crazy. I nodded without saying anything and walked off.

I really couldn't believe it. A famous band that had many females practically throwing themselves at them, were talking to me. All because of Kat's stupid plan, which I know thought of as brilliant, I was in a position many girls would kill for. I smiled to myself as I walked to the kitchen.

"It's about time!" The boss exclaimed, hurrying over to grab the notepad. He immediately ran off and began giving orders.

Kat walked up to me, a huge smile on her face. "So how'd it go?"

I laughed and my face turned slightly red. "I spilled one soda. So I guess it could have been worse!"

Kat covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled and shook her head. "Oh Mel, you seriously are the world's biggest ditz."

I grinned and nodded. "Oh I know. Well.. I'd love to stay and chat, but they asked me to come back and sit with them for a while.." I said quietly, blushing. Kat's eyes widened.

"What?!" She asked, smiling like an idiot. I held up a finger and shushed her.

"Calm yourself Kat! It's not that big of a deal.." I shrugged it off, but secretly I was freaking out just as much as her. She shook her head quickly.

"The _Beatles_ asked _you_ to go and sit with them! Mel, that is kind of a big deal!" She squealed. I grinned and nodded sheepishly. She rolled her eyes and pushed me to the door. "Go! Shoo! Be gone!"

I walked out of the kitchen and turned to face her. She gave me a thumbs up, and I winked at her. She made a suggestive face with her eyebrows, making me laugh. I made one back, and that started our funny face war. For a few minutes, I forgot that there were people at the tables, and I stood there making funny faces at my best friend. She was called back into the kitchen though, so our war had to end. Turning around, I froze as I realized that all four of the Beatles were staring at me. And that from their table, they couldn't have seen who I was making the faces at. So I probably looked crazy to them. Lovely.

Grinning and blushing, I walked over and took my seat next to Paul and John. All four of them grinned at me, and I tried to hide my face.

"Uh, yeah, my best friend is back there.. and we do that sometimes.. and yeah.." I mumbled quietly. Paul laughed next to me.

"No questions will be asked, love." He said, smiling at me. John held up a finger.

"I have one! Is your friend back there as pretty a face as you?"

I instantly blushed at the compliment, and then got an idea. Oh Kat was going to kill me for this.

"Oh dear God no," I scoffed, "She's hideous. I've been trying to convince her for weeks to get her eyebrow plucked, but she just refuses. I think the poor dear has grown attached to it…" I shudder, adding effect.

"What's so wrong with having one eyebrow?" George asked, crossing his arms with a grin. I noticed that he had rather thick eyebrows and they were in fact, becoming close to joining as one. I smiled at him.

"At least you look good with yours," I said, winking. They were obviously not expecting that from someone like me, as they burst out into laughter. George blushed a tad bit, but for the most part grinned wider than them all. Ringo clapped.

"Melissa's hitting on our little Gerogiepoo here! How cute," He said, ruffling George's hair. This made said man blush even more, causing everyone to laugh even harder.

"Where's my compliment?" John said, pouting. I look at him for a few seconds, not speaking.

"Hm, when you do something to deserve one, I'll letcha know," I said finally. Paul, Ringo, and George started laughing once again, and John just grinned.

"Sassy lil' bird, aren't we?" He asked, taking a sip of his Coke. I shrugged.

"I'm actually usually not like this. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"I guess being around four of the most attractive men in all of England does that to a person," Ringo said, winking. I laughed along with the boys and smiled. They were really easy to talk to, something I wasn't expecting from a famous band.

"Alright guys, here's your food!" A cheery voice called out, and I looked over to see Kat balancing trays of food like a pro. I would probably end up killing somebody if I tried that.

As she put down the trays of food, she looked at me. "You owe me. He was in there freaking out asking where you were. I had to lie and tell him you went to loo. I still don't think he realized that you don't work here," she said, giggling. I rolled my eyes.

"Your boss is an airhead Kat. I could probably dress up Paul here in waiter's uniform and he wouldn't notice," I said, pointing my thumb at Paul. He laughed, and John looked at me.

"Is this place just swarming with attractive birds Melissa? Save for your friend who brought you in here, apparently," John asked, winking at Kat. She blushed for a second, then realized what he had said.

"Hey wait! _I _am the friend that brought Mel in here!" She turned to me, angry, "What did you tell them Melissa Joanne King?"

"Certainly not that you were quite the looker!" John exclaimed, laughing. I shrugged at my angry friend.

"I may have fibbed a tad bit.." I said, looking down at the table. Ringo scoffed.

"A tad bit? You said she had a unibrow!" I glared at Ringo as my best friend made a noise in surprise. He held up his hands and sunk into his chair, mumbling "Sorry.."

"A unibrow?" Kat glared, placing her hands on her hips. "Need I remind you who was afraid to even pick up a razor until she was fourteen!"

I blushed furiously as the boys laughed and "Oh"'d at that one.

"At least I'm the girl that was convinced that kissing boys was disgusting until she was _sixteen_!" I shot back. Her face froze, and it was her turn to turn red like a tomato.

"Girl fight!" George exclaimed, and the boys all cheered. They watched intensely as Kat and I shot insults back and forth.

"You showered in your bathing suit until you were twelve!"

"You cried when you were fifteen because you lost your teddy bear!"

"You sobbed when your goldfish died! _And _made me attend its funeral!"

"Well at least I didn't pee on myself. _Last month!_"

It got silent after that one, and I stood there, blushing furiously. Why did she have to bring that up? It was her fault anyways! I had drank too much water and really had to pee, but she wouldn't let me go to the loo, and she kept making me laugh!

She opened her mouth, to apologize I supposed, but I started laughing. It was quiet at first, but it grew louder as I began to laugh harder. Kat broke out into a smile and began laughing as well, and soon the boys joined it.

"It's hilarious really.. me.. a nineteen year old girl.. doing that.." I managed to get out in between laughs. Kat nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. We all eventually calmed down, and Kat dragged over a chair and sat at the short end of the table.

"So you're not embarrassed that she just told us that?" Paul asked, his face slightly red from laughing so much. I nodded and grinned.

"Oh yeah, of course I am. And I'm probably going to murder her later for it. But hey, it was funny. And it was her fault!" I exclaimed, glaring at Kat. John chuckled next to me.

"How did she make you pee yourself?" Ringo asked, leaning closer. The other three followed in his lead, and I laughed because they all looked so eager to hear.

"Uh well, I had been drinking a lot of water that day. And I really had to pee after a while. But she wouldn't let me go for some reason, and she thought it would be funny to make me laugh as hard as I possibly could. Laughing and having to pee really badly don't mix well," I explained, laughing.

They all laughed along, and we all just talked and laughed for a while. They all told us funny stories about things that had happened to them, and whatnot. Ringo was absolutely hilarious and adorable, something I never really expected from him. (I'm not going to lie, the large nose threw me off.) Before we knew it, it had gotten close to midnight.

"I'm not going to lie, I don't think we've ever met such gear fans before," George said. The others nodded, agreeing.

"Yeah! We've been talking for a few hours now and you haven't even thrown yourselves at us once this whole time. Pretty sure that's a new record!" Ringo excalimed, agreeing. I grinned at Kat, and she grinned back at me.

"Well I don't think we've ever met such cool famous people!" I said, laughing. Kat rolled her eyes at me.

"Mel, we've never met any famous people before." I glared at her.

"Hush. The point is, you guys are actually very down to earth. Well, most of the time," I added, grinning at John and Paul, who both had the tendency to get a bit cocky. John just grinned, but Paul looked at me.

"Me? Cocky? Never!" He said, pretending to be hurt by my accusation. I rolled my eyes and hit his shoulder playfully. He gasped.

"Now abuse! What is this relationship turning into?" He laughed, but his smile faltered when he saw that I wasn't laughing. "Oh, did I say something wrong? Are you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on my arm. I looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, sorry. I just uh, got lost in thought for a minute," I gave him a weak smile, and he returned it, but I felt like he knew something was wrong. Looking down, I realized for the first time that night that there was a bruise on my arm from Thomas's grip on me earlier. I saw Paul's eyes flick down to the bruise, and they came back up just as quickly. No doubt he had seen it, but I hope he just thought I ran into a door or something.

"Melissa!" I heard someone yell from the doorway. Looking over, I froze.

Thomas.

Everyone else looked in his direction as he walked over to us, looking angry.

"Melissa where the hell have you been? All you left me was some damn note that said you would be out, but not where you were going!" He said angrily. I gulped and opened my mouth to explain, but that's when he noticed Paul, who still hadn't removed his hand from my arm. "And who the hell are you! Get your fucking hands off my girl!"

Paul's warm hand immediately left my arm, and he looked up at Thomas, surprised. "Sorry, I wasn't tryin-"

Thomas cut him off. "Oh shut up, I don't give a rat's ass about your excuses. Come on Melissa, we're leaving." He reached down and yanked me out of my chair roughly. I was caught off guard by his roughness, as he usually acted like the perfect boyfriend in public. Crying out in pain and surprise, he dragged me along. Kat stood up and stopped Thomas.

"Tom, calm down. She's been with me the whole time, we were just talking to our friends," she tried to explain. He just shoved past her, and kept walking. I looked back and gave her a look. She just stood there, staring a Thomas like she was thinking about something.

"Bye Melissa! We'll definitely do this again sometime soon!" I heard Ringo shout. I smiled even though I was so close to tears.

"Yeah! We'll give you a ring!" John shouted as well. I heard Thomas scoff.

"Like hell you will."

The chilly night air hit me as we stepped outside, and we were both silent as we walked to wherever Thomas parked his car. Then without warning, he stopped abruptly and grabbed my arm, pulling me close to him. I closed my eyes as I braced myself what was coming next.

I heard the sound of skin on skin, and felt the familiar stinging in my cheek. Warm tears rolled down my cheek through my closed eyes and I heard Thomas laugh.

"You're pathetic. Really. Hanging out with a bunch of men all night while I'm at home? And don't think for a second I was worried about you, because I may or may not have had company as well."

_Way to contradict yourself asshole. Yell at me for just chatting with some guys while I was with my friend, who's a __**girl**__, while you were at home probably shagging any girl desperate enough, _I thought to myself. I didn't dare say that, though I would have loved to.

"You're lucky I'm nice enough to let you stay with me, otherwise your sorry arse would be out on the street, you best believe that."

I rolled my eyes, fed up with him. "You know what, what if I don't want to stay with you? What if I want to leave? You wouldn't care, so why don't I just do that and let you be rid of me?" I yanked my arm out of his grip and turned around to leave. I only got a few steps before he grabbed me and pulled me back in. I didn't have time to realize what was happening, but this time I felt another slap, though this one was harder than any of the others. He leaned down and I could feel his hot breath against my ear.

"You leave, and it'll be the fucking last thing you do. Ever. I can promise you that," he whispered. I could hear the smile in his voice. He pushed me away from him and started walking down the street. I stood there, frozen to my spot.

Did he just.. did he just threaten to kill me?

Sobs began to rack my body as his words sunk in. I probably looked like an idiot, standing there in the middle of the street in the middle of the night, sobbing. But I didn't care.

Because for the first time, I was truly and honestly terrified of him.

**Okay folks! Sorry about it being so long, but I just got really into it, and I just couldn't think of a good way to end it. But I did! And before I get reviews saying, "oh the whole abusive boyfriend thing is so cliché and overdone!" Well, I'm sorry. I didn't necessarily want to do it, but it was really all I could come up with to make things semi-interesting. Plus, abusive relationships are actually more common than people think soo.. anyways, how was it? Let me know in a review! Thanks **

**OH! AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OF THOSE WHO REVIEWED MY FIRST CHAPTER. Yes, I know that should have been at the top of this long author's note, but I'm too lazy to go back and write it up there. So it's at the bottom. Alright now, REVIEW! Bye **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**xXxXxXx**

A week passed since that eventful night at the small tavern, and it was a very hard week. Thomas's anger flared more than usual, and he wouldn't even let me leave the flat. He would always go out at night, then come back early in the morning, angrier than when he left. He terrified me, and I made sure that I never did anything to possibly make him angry. But I knew that anything I said or did made him angry.

Kat seemed a bit more eager to always be around me after what happened, but I always thought of an excuse for her to stay away. I didn't want her to get suspicious, though I think me keeping her away was doing just that. I did talk to her on the phone though, and assured her that I was alright, but just didn't feel like doing anything. She didn't press on, just let it be.

"I'm going out. I expect you to be here when I get back," Thomas proclaimed, dragging me out of my thoughts. Not even bothering to look up from the dishes I was doing, I just nodded. I heard him scoff.

"Dumb bitch," he said quietly before leaving. I sighed with relief when I heard the door shut, and a loud car engine start outside. Placing down the dishes, I decided that I would finally relax for a little while. Sitting down on the couch, I turned on the telly. There was nothing too interesting on, but I settled for a funny movie with a good looking actor as the main character.

I had just grabbed a coke and sat down when the phone rang. I groaned and stood back up. Taking a swig from my coke as I picked up the phone, I quickly gulped it and spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Melissa King?" A male voice asked on the other line. I frowned, as I realized the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Uh, yes. May I ask who is calling?" I tried to sound as polite as possible. The man chuckled.

"You really don't remember me?" He asked.

"You sound familiar yes, but I just can't quite remember who it belongs to."

I heard a sigh. "Wow, I'm heartbroken. You can't even remember the famous Paul McCartney's name.."

A smile instantly spread across my face. It was Paul! But wait, why was Paul calling me? "No offense Paul, but why are you calling me?" I laughed.

"You know, most girls would love to be getting a phone call from me right now," he said. I could imagine the smug look he probably had on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh just tell me, you git."

He laughed. "Alright, alright. We're coming to pick you up in about thirty minutes. Be ready, and there are no excuses. I think Kathleen will literally march in there and drag your arse out if she has too. Or at least that's what she told John when he rang her."

"But Thomas isn't-" I started, but Paul cut me off.

"We'll deal with him later if we have to."

"No really, Paul, you don't understand. I can't-"

"Hold on for a sec Melissa," he said. I heard shouting in the background, and Paul laugh. "Alright yeah, I'll be there in a minute! Just make sure Ringo doesn't eat it! Okay Mel, I have to go. Be ready in thirty okay? Goodbye!"

And before I could say another word, I heard the click and his voice was gone. Taking a shaky breath, I ran a hand through my hair. I had no idea what to do. Should I risk it and go? Or spend my night sitting at home doing nothing… again.

Anger flared through me then. It wasn't fair that I was letting Thomas run my life! He didn't get to go out and do God knows what while I sat here in fear. So I decided. I made my decision.

Not only was I going out tonight, I was living this prison cell. For good.

I looked at the clock. It was only six. Thomas usually didn't come home until around five or six in the morning. So that gave me plenty of time to go out, then come back and grab my bags and leave. I would figure out where when the time came. For now, I had to focus on tonight.

Walking to my room, I tried to decide on what to wear. I had no idea what we were planning on doing, or where we were going, but we were going out with the Beatles, so it had to be nice.

_Holy shit, we're going out with The Beatles! _

It finally hit me, and I did a happy dance around my room. "We're going out with the Beatles! We're going out with the Beatles!" I sang as I skipped and jumped around the room, smiling for the first time since the night of the concert.

I decided on a flowy black dress with white polka dots that ended just above my knees, with sleeves that ended just above my elbows. I threw up my hair into a bun, and let my bangs swoop down my forehead, and a few stray pieces of hair framed my cheeks. I completed the look with a silver necklace with a little heart locket attached, and a pearl bracelet. I decided against heels, as I didn't feel like breaking my ankle tonight.

I went light on the makeup, only putting a light line of eyeliner on the top and bottoms of my eyes, along with some white eye shadow. I applied some mascara and light pink lipstick to finish it all off. Looking in the mirror, I smiled at my reflection. I didn't even look all that bad.

There was a knock at the door, and I rushed out of my room, grabbing my purse on the way out. Slipping on my white flats I opened the door. A grinning Ringo Starr stood in my doorway. He bowed, and motioned towards the nice car that sat outside the flat.

"Your ride awaits, m'lady!" He stood up straight and held out his arm. I giggled and took his arm, and he led me down the steps. He opened the car door, and I climbed in. I found myself sitting next to Paul. Ringo slid in next to me, and the car was in motion. I noticed immediately that Kat wasn't in the car.

"Where's Kathleen?" I asked Ringo. He just shrugged.

"She rang us back last minute, saying something about her boy being sick or whatnot. Wasn't even aware she even had a boyfriend until just then. She gave us directions to your house and here we are!"

I laughed and nodded, flattered that they still wanted to go out with me, even though Kat was the fun one. "So, where are we going?" I asked no one in particular.

"We're going to a club!" Paul exclaimed, smiling at me. John laughed from the driver's seat and glanced back real quick.

"We're going to bring out the wild side in ya, King!" He said excitedly, throwing his fist up into the air. I nodded, smiling, but I suddenly got really nervous. I had absolutely no idea how to dance.

"Something wrong, love? You look like you've just made a horrible realization!" Ringo said, placing a hand on my leg. I laughed at how dead on he was.

"I did. I realized that I can't dance!"

All four of the boys burst out laughing, and George looked back. "Don't worry, we won't leave you hanging," he said, winking.

"Yeah, I know a thing or two… and not just about dancing," John said before bursting out into laughter. I rolled my eyes, grinning. I could already tell that this was going to be a fun night, a night that I really needed.

We arrived at the club, and people recognized the Beatles right away. They swarmed around us immediately, separating them from me. I started to freak out and look over the crowd of girls to look for them, but a hand stuck out from nowhere and grabbed my wrist. The hand pulled me hard, and I stumbled through the wall of girls. I looked up to a smirking Paul.

"I don't think even the entire armed forces could hold back these girls," I told him, shouting over the screams. Paul just shrugged and kept a tight grip on my wrist as we navigated through to the door. Finally, we broke through the door to the club. The smell of smoke was the first thing to hit me, then the smell of alcohol. I scrunched up my nose at the smell. I wasn't much of a drinker, and I didn't smoke at all. There was a band playing music on the stage, and everyone around us was dancing to the upbeat tune.

Girls immediately swarmed the boys, dragging them off to who knows where. I was left standing there awkwardly amongst a crowd of unfamiliar faces. I stood there for a few minutes, hoping that maybe one of the boys would come and rescue me, but no help came. Sighing, I sat down at an empty table and tapped my hands on my knees along with the beat.

Looking through the crowd, I managed to spot George. He was dancing with a pretty blonde, laughing and smiling like no other. A few feet away sat Paul and George on a couch, surrounded by girls. Both had their arms around two girls each, obviously enjoying the attention. I got a bit angry then. Why would they bring me to a club just to ditch me? I sighed as I began to really regret coming.

I nearly screamed when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Ringo smiling down at me. "You look lonely, love. Care for some company?"

I motioned for him to sit. He did so, and took a sip of the drink in his hand. We sat there in silence for a minute, and he frowned at me. "You don't seem to be having a good time!"

I just shrugged. He frowned again, then stood up. Taking my hand, he led me to the middle of the dance floor.

"Ringo, I can't dance!" I tried to explain, but Ringo wasn't having it.

"Just do what I do!" And with that, he started doing some rather.. interesting dance moves. I giggled and followed along, mimicking him. Other people around us stared, then joined in. Soon, we had a huge group doing "The Ringo", I named it.

After a while of that dance, I got really tired. "I'm going to go get a drink!" I shouted to Ringo. He nodded and shooed me away. I walked up to the bar, pulling out my purse. Just as I was pulling out my wallet, a hand landed on top of mine and pushed it back down.

"I'll pay for this one," said the owner of the hand. I looked up and saw a man with pretty green eyes smiling at me. He winked then turned back to the bartender.

"One two glasses of whiskey," he told him. I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn't want any alcohol, but I closed it. What the hell, may as well have some fun tonight, right?

The man handed me my drink and I took a sip. Realizing how good it tasted and how nice the burn in my throat felt, I drank more. Before I knew it, it was all gone. I made a pouty face at the glass, hoping it would magically refill itself. The man laughed, and I was startled because I honestly forgot he was there.

"Don't worry, I'll buy you another one. Don't want to see any more frowns on the beautiful face of yours!"

I blushed and smiled shyly, and he bought me another drink. I took it and thanked him, and decided to start a conversation.

I lost count of how many glassses I had after about.. five. Things started to get blurry and I was a tad bit past tipsy.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, holding up my hand to my mouth. The man looked down at me, worried.

"What is it?"

"Why, we've been standing here all night! We need to dance!" I giggled, and grabbed his hand. I pulled him to the dance floor and started to dance. I probably looked very unattractive, but at the time, I didn't mind. He put his hands on my hips and moved in very close. We danced like that for awhile, and eventually, I felt his hand slide a bit lower. I pulled away before he could reach my butt, and grinned.

"Ah, ah, ah!" I said, shaking my pointer finger at him. He pouted at this. He grabbed my hips again and pulled me close to him.

"How about we go back to my place?" He whispered into my ear. I opened my mouth to answer, but something over his shoulder caught my eye, distracting me.

"Paulie!" I squealed, breaking free of the man's grasp and running over to him. When he saw me running, he smiled and stopped walking.

"Mel! Hey!" He saw the man over my shoulder and frowned. "Who's that bloke? He's staring at you pretty hard, he is."

I turned around and waved at him, then turned back to Paul. "You know, I don't actually, know.. He never gave me his name!" I giggled again before hiccupping. Paul raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

"Melissa, have you had anything to drink tonight?" He asked, crossing his arms. I smiled sweetly at him.

"No sir!" I said, doing my best impression of a soldier and even saluting him. Paul gave me a look that clearly showed he didn't believe me. "Okay… maybe one or two," I broke out into a huge smile, "Or seven. I dunno, I lost count!" I hiccupped again.

Paul's eyes widened. "Seven? Christ Mel, I've never pictured you as quite the partier! But c'mon, we've got to get you home, you're blitzed."

I shook my head and smiled. "But I wanna stay here! I'm having fun! Weeee!" I grabbed his arm and held it up, so I could spin under it like you would if you were dancing. Paul laughed and shook his head.

"C'mon," he said, giving me a serious look. I dropped his hand and frowned.

"Party pooper!" I cried out, sticking out my tongue. I blew a raspberry at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it's definitely time for you to go home," He mumbled.

I just giggled, not really comprehending what he was saying. He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd. I giggled even more as I looked down at our hands intertwined. Paul McCartney was holding my hand!

"Hey everyone, Paul McCartney is holding my hand!" I shouted. Some people turned to look, but for the most part, nobody heard. I could hear Paul chuckling though.

We stopped abruptly, and I saw John speaking with Paul. Paul said something to him, and John looked back, grinning. He waltzed over to me. "Well look at that, she does have a wild side! George owes me money now, he does!" He clapped happily. I giggled and attempted to steal the drink he had in his hand. Paul cut me off though and grabbed John's drink.

"Here you go, knock yourself out. The lips of _the _John Lennon touched that cup!" Paul said as he handed a random girl the glass. She looked up, and realized it was Paul McCartney and saw John next to him. She instantly started freaking out and ran away, shouting "OH MY GOD! I HAVE JOHN LENNON'S GLASS!"

Paul looked amused, but John did not.

"Hey, I was drinking that you know!" He exclaimed angrily. Paul shrugged.

"Usually I would be all for drinking, but Mel here has already had seven, and she doesn't need any more. We don't know how well she handles her alcohol, and I'd rather not find out the bad way. Help me get her to the car, would ya?"

John grinned at me. "Seven eh? Looks like I'll be keepin ya around after all!"

Paul rolled his eyes and tugged on my arm gently. I giggled and followed him as he led me out, but not before winking at John.

"You know Paul, I say we get alcohol into her more often. I quite like this," John said as we stepped out into the cool midnight air. Paul laughed and a stuck my hand up into the air.

"I agree!"

When we reached the car, he opened the door and gently pushed me in. I struggled, and Paul literally had to wrestle me into the car. John watched, amused by the whole thing, then got in the driver's seat.

"May as well sit back there with her Macca, don't want her climbing out while I'm driving. And in her condition, I wouldn't put it past her to do such a thing. She's a wild bird."

Paul nodded and slid in next to me. I smiled and waved at him. "Hi! I'm Melissa, it's nice to meet you!"

He laughed softly and smiled. My eyes suddenly grew really wide. "Paul, come here! I need to tell you a secret!" I exclaimed, motioning him with my finger. He looked at me confused, but leaned in close anyways.

"Did you know… did you know that you're a part of The Beatles?" I whispered loudly. I heard John choke with laughter up front, and Paul leaned away from me slightly.

"Wow, you really are blitz.. You're going to regret this in the morning, I can tell you th- Uh, what are you doing Melissa?"

I guessed he was referring to my hands, which were placed on either cheek. "You have really soft, chubby cheeks! Like a baby's butt!" I giggled, and again, I could hear John cracking up in the front.

Paul's cheeks got warm, but I couldn't see the blush because of my hands. I pinched his cheeks and started to move them up and down, making various high pitched noises as I did so. Paul placed his hands on my wrists and pushed them down slowly. I tried to fight it, but I gave up and looked out the window, dazed.

"Paulie, where are we going?" I asked, swinging my head around to look at him.

"We're taking you home, you need rest," he informed me.

Home. Where Thomas was probably up waiting for me. I frowned. "I don't wanna go home.." I mumbled, crossing my arms. Paul shrugged.

"Sorry love, you've got to."

"He'll probably just get really angry and hit me again," I said, without really thinking. Paul's eyes narrowed.

"Who will get angry and hit you again?"

My frown deepened. "Thomas."

From the corner of my eye I saw John stiffen in his seat, and Paul looked over at him. "John, you hearing this?"

"No Paul, I suddenly went deaf and can't hear anything," John said sarcastically. Paul frowned.

"No need to be cheeky about it. Pull over next chance you get, will ya?" He asked. John nodded and searched for a place he could park. Paul turned back to me.

"Mel, does Thomas hurt you?" He asked slowly, as if I were a child. Well, I guessed in the state I was in, I may as well have been.

I nodded, suddenly feeling not very chatty. Paul's frowned again, and I felt the car come to a stop. John leaned over and looked at me. "How often would you say he does this, love?"

I shrugged, fingering a button on the hem of my skirt. "Maybe once or twice a day? I don't know. He says I deserve it, though I don't know what I ever do to make him so mad." I said, suddenly becoming really emotional. Tears formed in my eyes, and I tried to blink them back.

Paul ran a hand through his hair and looked at John. "Think she's telling the truth?" He asked his friend. John shrugged.

"They say drunk people don't lie, so possibly."

Paul bit his lip, thinking. He turned back to me. "When was the last time Thomas hit you?"

I tried to remember, but it was hard, being as drunk as I was. I jumped with excitement when I finally managed to remember. "Last night! See, it left a pretty big bruise," I said, while rolling up my right sleeve. About midway up the top half of my arm, there was a large purple bruise from where Thomas hit me. A small cluster of other bruises covered my arm as well.

Paul sucked in air sharply, as he gently touched it. I flinched away because it hurt. He looked up at me, a sad look in his eyes. But there was something else there too. Anger.

"Does anyone know about this?" He asked softly. I shook my head.

"No. But shh! Don't tell anyone! Especially not Kat or any of the Beatles!" I exclaimed, giving him a serious look. John chuckled, and a small smile came across Paul's face. He turned to his friend.

"What should we do?" He asked. John sighed and shrugged.

"I have no idea. I mean, we have that extra room in our flat for when Brian needs a place to crash.."

Paul looked thoughtful. "But would he really see it fit to have a girl staying with us four?"

"He doesn't have to know.. I mean, we can't let her go home to an abusive boyfriend Paul. In the morning we'll figure things out, but for now, we need to make sure we don't put her in even hotter water than she's already in."

Paul thought about this for a minute and then nodded. "You wouldn't mind staying with us tonight, would you?" He asked me. I looked up from my hands, as I had been playing thumb war with myself.

"Nah, I don't mind. Will I get to sleep on a bed?" I asked, getting excited. Paul looked at John, then back at me, confused.

"Yeah.. why wouldn't you sleep on a bed?" John asked. I shrugged, still grinning.

"Thomas usually makes me sleep on the couch. It's not very comfortable, but it's better than a floor!"

John's expression softened. "Poor bird. Well don't worry, you'll have a big comfy queen bed all to yourself!" He cheered. I cheered with him, and Paul laughed along. My mood was immediately starting to lift, but I could feel myself wearing out. I couldn't wait to sleep off all of the alcohol I had consumed.

The car started up again, and we were on our way to their flat. I rested my head on the window and watched as the city flew past us in a blur. I felt my eyes getting heavier, and I eventually gave in to the sleep.

I was brought out of my peaceful sleep by voices.

"Should we wake her up? That dress doesn't look very comfortable for her to sleep in.."

"No, let her sleep. I think she's too exhausted to really care."

"I mean, I don't have to wake her up. I could change her while she still slept.." There was a laugh.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you John?"

"Why do you think I suggested it? OW! There is no need for violence, Paulie."

"With you there is."

I sat up, and the two dark figures standing in the room I was in looked over.

"See what you did? You woke her up you git!"

"No John, she probably felt the presence of your pervertedness and woke up."

"That didn't even make sense Paul."

I groaned. The hangover was already starting to set in. Even though I could tell I was still a bit tipsy, my head had definitely cleared up. I sat up and looked around. The room I was in was unfamiliar. There was a click and light flooded the room, making me groan again and close my eyes. I heard chuckling and felt the bed shift.

"Where I am?" I asked, groggily. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to adjust to the light.

"You're at our flat, love," John said while fluffing up a pillow. I gave him a look.

"Uh..why?"

Paul shook his head next to me. "We'll explain it all tomorrow. But you need to rest for now, okay?"

I was hesitant, but at last I nodded. I was about to lie down again, but then I remembered; Thomas. Jumping up off the bed, I looked at Paul. "What time is it?" I asked. He gave me a weird look but looked down at his wrist watch.

"It's a little bit past one in the morning," he told me.

"Which means," John started as he stood up and tried to make me sit down again, "You should be sleeping off all that whiskey you had to drink."

I just shrugged him off and looked around for my bag. Once I found it I started for the door. I just about made it when a hand grabbed me and stopped me.

"Where do you think you're going?" Paul asked.

"I need to go home. I shouldn't have stayed out this late! Thomas-"

"We'll deal with that bastard in the morning, okay? You really need to sleep though, you look like you're about to collapse right now," John said, stepping in front of me. I gave him a confused look. I was about to ask him what he meant, but the ringing phone interrupted me. John sighed and walked into the other room to answer it. I turned to Paul.

"Paul, I really need to go," I pleaded. Paul just shook his head.

"We're not letting you go back to him, Melissa," he told me softly. Okay, now I was really confused. Paul seemed to realize this. "Oh, you don't remember anything you told us, do you?"

I shook my head and took a step towards him. "No, no I don't. What did I say?" I asked, getting nervous. Had I told them about Thomas?

"You told us about Thomas."

Damn it, never drinking alcohol ever again.

"And you showed us the bruises."

Thomas was going to kill me. Literally.

"Alright, well I need to go pick up George and Ringo from the club. Paul, you mind staying here to make sure she doesn't try to escape?" John winked. I gave him a feeble smile back.

"You guys make it seem like you're kidnapping me or something," I said, laughing dryly. John just shrugged and pecked my cheek real fast, catching me off guard.

"Only trying to help you, love. I'll be back soon. Try and sleep, okay?"

I nodded, and John left. I sighed and sat down on the bed. Rubbing my face with my hands, I tried to decide what to do next. Leaving wasn't an option, apparently.

I wouldn't lie though, I thought it was really nice of them to care so much, and to go through all that trouble just for me. I mean, they were the _Beatles_ for crying out loud. And I had only met them last week. The whole thing still seemed like a dream.

Paul sat down next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, and he gave me a small smile. I tried to return it, but I just looked down. Tears started to form in my eyes for some reason.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked softly. As I looked up, a tear managed to escape. I sighed and shrugged.

"I'm just scared," I whispered. "When Thomas finds out I told you guys.." I turned my head to hide my face as more tears escaped.

"Hey, hey, hey," Paul said, taking two fingers and pulling my chin towards him. He smiled softly and wiped away a tear with his finger. "Nothing is going to happen to you, we won't allow it. I promise."

I smiled back finally, and our eyes locked for a long time. He had really pretty eyes, I noticed. They reminded me of puppy dog eyes. They drooped slightly, but it was actually pretty cute. I realized something else too.

"Paul.." I said, getting really serious. A worried look came across his face at my seriousness.

"Yes?"

"You.. You have really perfect eyebrows," I said, giggling. He seemed surprised for a minute, but then laughed as well.

"You had me scared there for a minute!" He exclaimed, gently pushing my shoulder.

"I mean c'mon! I'm jealous! Who does your eyebrows?" I asked, raising my own. Paul shook his head.

"Nobody. They're natural. Like the rest of my good looking face," he said, sticking his nose up in the air very pompously. I rolled my eyes.

"They cannot be natural. Nobody's eyebrows are _that_ perfect." I shook my head, refusing to believe it.

"They are! I promise!"

"Whatever," I yawned. Paul grinned at me.

"You need some sleep," he said, standing up. I nodded in agreement because the drowsiness was returning.

"WAIT!" I shouted as he walked out the door. He turned around, looking worried. "Do you have anything I could wear to sleep? This dress isn't exactly the most comfortable."

Paul laughed again, then looked around, thinking. He held up his hand and told me to hold on, then left the room. He returned a minute later holding a large long-sleeved button down shirt. He tossed it to me, and it landed on my head. I could hear his chuckling as I pulled it off my head.

"It's my shirt. Seeing as how I'm a lot taller than you, I think it should be okay. Need anything else?"

I shook my head and smiled at him. Just as he was about to close the door, I spoke up. "Thank you Paul. Really, it does mean a lot."

Paul smiled and hesitated at the door for a moment, then closed it. I sighed and stood up, stripping out of the dress. I put on Paul's shirt, and laughed. It was almost as long as the dress.

I pulled my hair out of the bun and let it fall past my shoulders. I crawled into the really comfortable bed, and pulled the comforter up to my chin. Burying my head into my arm, I closed my eyes.

The shirt smelled really good, I noticed. Like cigarettes, and cologne, and.. and just good stuff. I smiled to myself as I drifted off to sleep, feeling safe for the first time in weeks. Maybe things would start to look up.

**Woo! Okay, that was a long chapter. Thanks for everyone that reviewed and favorited You guys always make me want to write faster! And just for the record, I have never been drunk before, nor have I ever even really drank alcohol. So I apologize if Mel didn't act like a drunk person really would. I'm just going off of what it's like to be around them, hahah. Well, review as usual, they make me happy I'd like to know what you guys wanna see happen, so I'm welcome to any ideas! Don't be shy! Love you all **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**(Also, just a short side note, I don't think I ever really made this clear. It's around the end of September in 1963 right now. Mel came to England around the middle of July, and it's been two months. If I said anything about it being any earlier in any other chapters, I apologize. Just pretend like I said it was 1963 all along haha)**

**xXxXxXx**

I woke up again, at a reasonable hour this time, with only a slightly worse headache. It took me a few minutes to remember why I was in a large, unfamiliar bed and wearing a long shirt. Then I remembered the events of last night, and began worrying all over again. What would I do? Paul and John certainly weren't going to let me go back to Thomas. Not that I really wanted to. To be honest, I was glad they were doing this.

I sighed I stood up, deciding I would figure everything out later. I looked around the room to see if there was anything interesting I could get myself into. There wasn't. The walls were a pale white with black lining. The dresser was black, along with the bed. The bed had plain white sheets and pillows on it, and the bedside table was black as well. The room had a very sophisticated look to it, and it was kind of intimidating. There was a lamp on the dresser, along with a mirror propped up on the wall. Looking at my reflection, I grimaced.

My brown hair was messy and knotted in places, ending just below my breasts. My face looked pale, and my eyes both looked like I had been punched in my face. The makeup I had never washed off smeared all around my light blue eyes. I looked Death.

I opened the door, and then closed it softly behind me. I had no idea who was still sleeping and who may have had a horrible hangover. I looked down the hallway, trying to decide which way the bathroom would be. I saw the kitchen to my left, so I decided that would be my best chance. I walked as quietly as my bare feet would allow me, and winced every time I stepped on a creak in the floorboards… which was a lot.

I walked into the white kitchen expecting it to be empty, but I was wrong. Apparently I was the last one to wake up. All four boys stopped talking and turned to look at me. I heard John whistle, and Ringo and George stifle their laughs.

"Well Paulie, she definitely does that shirt more justice than you ever could," John said. The other two whooped in agreement, and my face turned red. I pulled down on the bottom of the shirt to make it cover up more of my legs.

"You look like you got in a bit of a rumble last night, with those eyes!" Ringo exclaimed, noticing my smeared makeup.

"I was thinking more of a raccoon," George joked. I grinned at him and tried to wipe away some of the makeup, but only succeeded in smearing it more. I sighed in defeat.

"Where's the washroom?" I asked, giving them a sheepish smile. Ringo chuckled and pointed down the hall. I nodded gratefully and walked quickly to that direction, making sure to hold down the shirt so it didn't ride up and give the guys a show.

As I made my way to the washroom, I wondered if Paul and John had told the other two about Thomas. I figured they had, as they weren't at all surprised by me being here. I slipped into the washroom and locked the door behind me.

It was clean, cleaner than I expected from this group of men, but there were still things like razors and toothbrushes scattered around on the counter. Turning on the faucet, I splashed the cool water on my face. I did that for about five minutes, making sure I got all the makeup off. I turned off the faucet and looked in the mirror. The makeup was gone, but now you could clearly see the bags under my eyes from not sleeping well these past few weeks. I sighed. At least I didn't look like a raccoon any more.

I walked back into the kitchen, once again gaining the attention of the four boys. I suddenly felt very self-conscious, standing here without makeup on in front of some of the most famous boys in Britain. I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say or do. Luckily, John spoke up, sensing my awkwardness.

"So, have you thought about what we're going to do next?" He asked, taking a sip of his tea. I rubbed one of my eyes with my hand and sighed, shaking my head.

"No, not yet. I don't really know what I'm going to do," I said, suddenly sounding tired. "I was planning on leaving soon, but I never really put thought into how I was going to do it, where I was going to go, and how to avoid Thomas's er... reaction."

John and Paul nodded thoughtfully, but Ringo and George looked confused.

"What are you lot going on about?" George asked. Now it was my turn to be confused.

"Didn't they tell you?" I asked. Both shook their heads. I was even more confused. "Then haven't you wondered at all why I'm here?"

Ringo shrugged, and George snorted with laughter. "I mean, it's not abnormal to wake up and have a bird in the house," he said. Ringo nodded with agreement.

"Paul brings home a lot of girls... And you're wearing Paul's shirt, so we just figured..."

It took me a few minutes to register what they were implying. When it finally did hit me though, my facial expression turned into one of surprise and I blushed again. "You thought that... we... God no!" I finally blurted out. John, Ringo and George laughed, and Paul looked slightly offended, though I didn't know if he was genuinely offended or not.

"Look at that Paul, we found a birdie that actually doesn't want to take you to bed!" John exclaimed through his laughter.

"Yeah, she seemed pretty repulsed at the idea of it," Ringo added.

"It's not that, I mean I'm not repulsed- it's jus- I... Oh, I'm just going to stop talking now," I muttered. Paul looked amused, and John chuckled. Standing up, he ruffled Paul's hair as he walked past.

"Looks like there's still some hope for ya Paulie. Be back soon love, gonna go get meself cleaned up. Then we'll talk about what to do next," he told me before disappearing down the hall. I took the seat he gave up, and sighed.

"So are you ever going to tell us what's going on, then?" I heard Ringo ask. I looked up, and saw Paul looking at me. He gave a look that said, "Should I?" I just shrugged and nodded.

I drifted off into my own thoughts as Paul explained everything to George and Ringo.

I noticed that while Paul was explaining, Ringo kept glancing my way. He would look away quickly once my eye caught his though. I smiled to myself slightly, thinking that Ringo was actually quite adorable. He just seemed so sweet and innocent. Though him being a Beatle and all, I'm sure he was far from innocent. But he sure seemed less cocky than the others.

John walked back into the room around the same time Paul finished telling my story. He winked at me and then leaned against the kitchen counter and waited for Paul to finish. Once he did, George spoke first.

"Why would he do something like that? Out of all lowest thing a lad can do, its beat his girl." The others nodded in agreement. I just shrugged and told them about the time at the club when he first hit me. From the corner of my eye I saw Ringo cringe slightly when I got to the part about him slapping me.

"Why didn't you ever leave? I know I sure as hell wouldn't put up with that," Paul said, leaning forward. I froze up there, not sure what to say.

_Because he threatened my life, that's why,_ I thought. _Because I actually kind of enjoy living.. _

Judging by the horrified looks that crept on to their faces, that last part wasn't just a thought. Great.

"What do you mean by that?" John asked, pushing away from the counter and walking to my side. I just sat there, unsure of what to say. I opened my mouth a few times, but nothing really came out but weird noises, so I closed it again. Paul repeated John's question, looking at me with concern.

I felt a hand on my leg, and looked up to meet Ringo's eyes and warm smile. "You can tell us, Melissa. We only want to help."

His smile seemed to just make me feel safe for some reason. I gave him a small smile back, which seemed to make his grow larger. I finally tore my eyes away from Ringo and looked around. They were all waiting for me to explain my comment. I sighed and took a shakey breath. Tears came to my eyes for some reason, and I fought to keep them back. I didn't want to look like an emotional wreck in front of these guys.

"I wanted to leave," I started, "I tried, actually. The night I met you guys, when he dragged me out of that cavern. He basically called me a whore for being with you guys, then started to talk about how he was out bedding other girls. He told me that I was lucky he was so nice, otherwise my sorry ass would be on the streets."

They all listened attentively, not making a sound. I didn't fail to notice that Ringo's hand was still on my leg.

"So I told him that if he didn't care so much, then I would leave. Anything was better than staying with him at that point. He hit me suddenly a-and.." I got too choked up to speak without the tears breaking through, so I stopped. Ringo's hand rubbed up and down my leg soothingly before he relocated it to my hand. He gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze. As he did that, the soft spot I had in my heart for him grew tremendously, and I somehow managed to go on.

"H-he.. he threatened to kill me," I whispered. I felt Ringo's hand tense up, and the other three had similar reactions.

"He said _what_?" John said, nearly shouting the last word. Paul stood up and John and George did shortly after as well.

"We're going to go get your stuff from this prick," Paul stated, walking towards the door. I stood up quickly and found myself quite sad when I had to tear my hand away from Ringo's.

"Wait," I said, walking quickly to his side. "As much as I would love to leave him, I-I can't just leave!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up.

"And why not?" John asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Because I have nowhere to go! If I went to Kathleen's house he would just find me and harass me there! I can't afford to stay at a hotel because I don't have any money. And I can't get a job if I have nowhere to live. So pretty much, I have to put up with him if I don't want to be homeless," I explained.

John seemed to consider this for a moment, then looked at Paul, who looked at George, who looked at Ringo. They all looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation with one another. I stood there, rather annoyed that they were leaving me out.

"I don't know.. I mean, it would look bad," George said finally to Paul. "I mean, I know she's a great gal and all, but we've only just met her last week."

"I could really care less about publicity or when we met her. She's our friend, and she's got nowhere else to go! I sure as hell am not letting the poor thing go back to a home where her life is in danger," Paul said firmly. John nodded next to him.

"I agree. We may be famous, but we are still human. Sure we'll get shit for it, but we're going to get shit for any fucking thing we do, not matter what it is. We're the _Beatles_, for Christ's sake. Can't even talk to a bird anymore without the public thinking I'm going to be the father to her children!"

"But what about Brian? He'd go ape!" George pointed out. Paul rolled his eyes.

"Brain's a pushover. We'll have him on our side in no time."

George sighed, defeated. Then he gave me a charming smile as a way of apologizing, I guessed. I was still clueless as to what was going on.

"It's decided then!" Paul clapped his hands together smiling, "You're going to stay with us!"

John cheered and slapped me on the back, grinning. "It'll be fun having a bird around all the time. We could use someone that can actually cook. I think Paul's given me food poisoning more times than I can count!"

Paul shrugged, but laughed. I looked at them like they were crazy.

"Guys, I'm flattered really, but I can't live with you guys!"

I saw Ringo's smile fall. "Well why not?" He asked.

"Because you guys are the _Beatles_!" I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You guys have tons of fans, and tons of reporters, a-and what happens when you guys go on tour?"

"You'd come with us, of course!" Ringo exclaimed, smiling again. Paul and John nodded. They must have seen how reluctant I still was, because John added, "Plus, all the fans would be a good thing. That means that we always have bodyguards. So that prick couldn't get close to you even in his dreams."

I think ultimately that was what won me over and made me finally agree, but the other part of it was because why in the world would I pass up a chance to live with the four most famous guys in Britain? I'd have to be pretty stupid to do that.

I changed back into my dress quickly so I didn't have to go out in public in just Paul's shirt, and made it back to the car just in time. A very impatient and angry Paul was about to drive off, and a very just as angry and impatient John was sitting in the passenger seat shouting at me to hurry up.

The whole ride back to Thomas's flat was a very nerve wracking time for me, and I kept bouncing my leg anxiously. What if he was there and tried to stop me? What if he saw I was with the boys? What if they all got into a huge fight? What if.. what if he hurt one of them?

Once again, Ringo placed his hand on my leg to get me to stop bouncing it. He kept it there and began to tap random rhythms while staring around the car aimlessly. I looked up at him and he finally looked down at me and gave me a cheesy grin that gave me a weird feeling in my stomach.

I smiled back at him, but had to look away because I realized I had begun to blush. From the corner of my eye I saw him chuckle quietly and turn to stare out George's window. He didn't stop tapping on my leg.

"This is it right? Kathleen gave me the address so that's how we got here last night, but I don't have the best memory in the world," Paul grinned at me. I laughed nervously and nodded.

"Yeah. We're here," I said breathlessly. The nervous feeling in my stomach escalated and I felt like I was going to be sick. As Paul looked for a place to park though, that feeling was gone in an instant when I realized that Thomas's car wasn't here. "He's not here!" I exclaimed.

"Well good. Then we can get your stuff and get out without a problem," John said smiling.

"It's a shame really, I was hoping to give him a piece of my mind," Paul frowned. George laughed and reached over the seat to pat him on the head. He parked the car quickly, and we all got out. I stopped for a minute and looked at the building, nervously.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Ringo, once again, smiling at me. "Ready love?"

I nodded and gave him a weak smile back. His hand slid to the back of my shoulder, and he gave me a gentle push to get me walking. He didn't drop his hand once I finally did start walking. From the corner of my eye, I saw George nudge John and then point at me and whisper something. A look of realization came across John's face, and he smiled like an idiot and began to dance in place. He saw me looking at him and stopped dancing and winked at me. I just rolled my eyes and kept walking.

When we reached the door, I tried the doorknob to confirm that he was gone. It was locked, so I knew he was out. I bent down and picked up the flowerpot and then picked up the small key. At least he was too much of an idiot to move the key.

I opened the door and walked into the small flat, stepping aside so the others could follow me in. The curtains were closed so it took me a few for my eyes to adjust to the dim lightening. Once they did, I gasped at the sight before me.

"Shit Melissa, did a tornado come through this place?" I heard Paul say next to me. I just shrugged, wordlessly. It did look like a tornado had come through.

Books were thrown all across the room, the lamps were all smashed and the pieces were scattered around the room, the tv had a gaping hole in it, and the kitchen table was overturned.

My first thought was that we had been robbed, but when I ran to the room where all my stuff was, nothing was missing. Just… destroyed.

A lot of my clothes were scattered around the room, all in rags. My favorite books had been destroyed as well. The pages had been ripped out and ripped to shreds and placed into a pile. But I think the worst part and the most heartbreaking one, was the broken flute that lay on the bed.

I sat down on the bed and picked up the broken flute and ran my fingers across it. There were numerous dents in the head and body, the keys had been ripped off and it was even bent. The flute was broken beyond repair, or at least it just would have been cheaper to buy another one than fix it.

I started to cry as I held the flute. Stupid, I know, but the flute was my one and only passion, something I honestly enjoyed playing. I had been playing since I was a child, and this was my first flute. I treated it like it was my baby, and made sure nothing bad ever happened to it. It had gotten me through many recitals and musical competitions. As I stared at the broken flute I felt like a piece of my heart had been ripped out as well.

Paul and Ringo sat down on either side of me, John knelt down in front of me, and George hovered in the back. John took the flute from my hands and whistled lowly as he looked it over.

"Wow, he did some damage. You play the flute?"

"No, I just thought it was pretty so I decided to get it so I could stare it all day," I snapped. John looked up at me, surprised. He put the flute back into my lap and stood up, holding up his hands in a surrendering motion.

"Sorry love. Dumb question, I know."

I sighed shakily and shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's just.. My flute was my baby, and now I feel like a mother who just lost her child."

"Well why don't you just get a new one?" Paul asked. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Do you know how much these things cost? I can't 'just go get a new one'"," I told him. He looked down, embarrassed. He mumbled and apology and I stood up. "Well I guess I better start collecting any of the stuff he hasn't destroyed."

I grabbed my suitcase from the closet and saw that Thomas hadn't gotten to all my clothes. He left six shirts and a few sweaters, a couple pair of blue jeans, my only pair of sweatpants, three pairs of shorts, my shortest skirt, and all of my bras and underwear and socks. I threw all that in my suitcase and my shoes followed shortly after. Looking around the room and realizing I really had nothing else to grab, I told them that we could go now. John asked if I wanted to bring the flute, but I just shook my head.

As we walked back to the front door, Ringo caught up with me. He grabbed my suitcase from my hand and gave me a sad smile. I tried to grab it back from him, but he wouldn't let me. "No, I'm going to carry it for you," he told me. I tried to argue but he just shook his head. I sighed but still grinned at him. It was sweet.

Everything was going good; we got to the car, put everything away in the trunk, and were about to get back in the car. I thought about how lucky I was to pull this off without Thomas around, and how happy I was that I was finally getting away from him. I spoke to soon then.

"Melissa! Get your fucking ass over here right now!" I heard someone yell. I was in the process of opening the door, but I froze when I heard that.

"Looks like we've got company, eh?" John said, stepping back onto the sidewalk. I placed my hand on his arm and told him to wait. Taking a deep breath I walked over to Thomas. He looked down at me, fire burning in his eyes.

"Where the hell were you last night? And why the fuck didn't you come home?"

I guess I took too long to respond, because he grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me towards him, making me cry out. I opened my mouth to answer him, but Paul beat me to it.

"She was with us," he said. Thomas looked at Paul, at the other three, then back at me.

"Fucking whore," he spat. I flinched at his words as if he hit me, and this only seemed to make Thomas even more mad. "You're pathetic."

"I'll have you know that she was only with us last night because she was terrified to go home to _you_," John said, glaring at him.

"Maybe you should learn how to stay the fuck out of people's business," Thomas growled. John didn't like that one bit. I could tell he was just itching to punch him in the face.

"Maybe you shouldn't be such a prick and I wouldn't have to get into your business."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Don't try and start shit with me, Lennon. Looks like there aren't any bodyguards around to save your ass. Just let me take Melissa back and you can be on your way."

John shook his head, laughing. "I don't need a damn bodyguard. I handled meself well before I needed bodyguards, I can handle meself now. I'm not letting you take her. She deserves better than a poor excuse of a man like you."

Thomas had apparently had enough of John's sass, as he grabbed my arm again and started to pull me towards the house. I fought back against him, and all four boys came to my aid.

"Get off me Thomas! I'm not going back with you!" I said in between grunts as I tried to pull my arm away. I heard Thomas growl, then felt the familiar feeling of his hand contacting with my face. It was the hardest slap I had ever felt, and my face felt like it was on fire. It didn't stop there though. Thomas pushed me back with so much force that I went flying backwards. Acting on instinct, I stuck out my hands to catch myself when I landed. That backfired horribly though, and I ended up landing on only my right hand. I cried out as pain seared up my arm. I closed my eyes, but the tears didn't stop, only came harder.

I felt a hand on my face and I immediately flinched away, scared it was going to be Thomas.

"No, no, no love! It's just me, its okay," someone said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get you up so we can get you to the car."

I opened my eyes and saw Ringo. I was so relieved that it wasn't Thomas that I immediately threw my arms around him. He was stiff for a minute and then returned the hug. The sudden movement of my right hand caused another surge of pain, and I winced. Ringo pulled away and helped me to my feet, leading me away from the other guys, who were now in a loud argument.

Once we were in the car, the voices were cut off and there was finally quiet. Well, quiet besides my occasional sob or whimper from the pain.

"I'm really sorry," I mumbled out quietly. "For all this. I shouldn't have dragged you guys into it.. It's my problem, not yours.. and now Paul, John and George are out there fighting something I should do, but I can't because I'm such a wimp. None of this would have happened if I just would have kept my mouth shut and-"

"And what? If you wouldn't have told us, you would have continued to live with that prick. Don't ever regret telling us about this. We're going to help you. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, especially not someone like you," He smiled.

As he said that, that feeling came back. That weird, tingly feeling in my stomach. Oh no. No, no, no. I was not developing a crush on this man. He was Ringo Starr, for crying out loud! Even if I did like him, I would have no chance. Plus, I hadn't really talked to him as much as I had John and Paul. I was not going to rush into my feelings like I did with Thomas. Look where that one got me.

I couldn't deny the fact that Ringo was a total sweetheart though, and as I hugged him for the second time, that tingly feeling intensified. Although at that time, my feelings were all messed up. During the hug, I suddenly started to cry harder into Ringo's shoulder. He was shocked at first, but then rubbed my back soothingly.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanted to leave him so bad, Ringo! I really did. But I was so scared.. After that night he threatened to kill me, h-he just got worse! I don't know why, but he did! I'm so terrified, because I've really done it now.. He's going to try and find me a-and.." I couldn't finish the last part. Ringo was silent for awhile.

"We won't let that happen, love. _I _won't let that happen," he finally said. I hugged him tighter when he said that, ignoring the intense pain in my hand. Our hug was broken up when the other three returned. They all got in quickly, laughing like crazy. Paul quickly pulled away and John kept looking back out the window. He then turned to me and grinned even wider.

"I may or may not have punched him in the face and broke his nose," he said quickly and breathlessly. My eyes widened, but I couldn't hold back the smile or the laugh.

"John, you're crazy… but thanks."

He winked, but then his smile dropped as he studied my face a bit more. "Christ Mel, he got your face good. It's already starting to bruise."

I touched my face with my good hand and winced as I pressed down where Thomas had hit me. I sighed. "I'm used to it by now, although that was the hardest slap I've ever received," I laughed dryly. "Besides, I have bigger problems to worry about." I held up right arm to show him my now swollen wrist.

"My God, that looks pretty bad. Is it broken?" George asked as he inspected it closely. I shrugged.

"I don't think so, I can move it, but what do I know?"

"Should we stop at the hospital?" Paul called out from the driver's seat. I immediately shook my head, eyes widening.

"No! No, I'm okay," I said quickly. John raised his eyebrows.

"Someone scared of the hospital?"

"No! I- I just don't think we need to go, it's not that bad, really," I laughed nervously. It was a lie though. I was absolutely terrified of hospitals. And needles. Just everything that had anything to do with hospitals.

"Don't worry John, we got some stuff at home that we can wrap it up with. Let's not make the poor girl go to the hospital if she doesn't want to," Ringo said, smiling down at me. For the third time that day, I just wanted to give Ringo a big hug, and that spot in my heart grew even more. John gave Ringo a weird look, but nodded before turning back around.

I scooted closer to Ringo so that our legs were touching, so I could whisper to him. "Thank you."

"No problem love. I've got your back." He gave me another boyish grin that would make any fan swoon, and I was no exception

Stop it Melissa. Stop it.

The whole ride back to their place was filled with conversation of what had just happened. They kept talking about Thomas's reaction with John punched him. I tried to listen, but I kept zoning out.

Was I really about to go live with the Beatles? A few of the most famous people in all of Britain? With thousands of fans that would literally kill to be in my place? It all seemed unreal. I mean, I had only met these four last week, and they already got me to move in with them.

Maybe it was too sudden. Maybe I should have gotten to know them better before I moved in with them. But where else was I going to stay? And they seemed to insist that I move in with them. I guess I would have plenty of time to get to know them now. Though I felt like even in the short time I've spent with them, I knew them pretty well. Well, better than most fans.

When we pulled up to their flat, I saw that a group of girls had formed just outside the gate. I was surprised, but I should have expected it. I mean, they were the Beatles.

"Dammit, the gatebirds are back," John groaned. The other three mumbled along. Apparently they weren't too fond of gatebirds.

When they saw the car pull up to the side of the road, they instantly began to scream and freak out. I suddenly got really nervous. What would they think when they saw me going into the home of the four Beatles?

"Mel, stay close to one of us. Gatebirds haven't tried anything on any other girl we've brought home, but we don't want to take any chances," Paul told me before getting out of the car. The screams got even louder and a chorus of "I love you Paul!"s rang out. The same thing happened as the other three stepped out. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

I didn't have to look to see that everyone was looking at me. But when I did look, my suspicions were confirmed. All the girls were looking at me and whispering to one another. I suddenly felt too scared to take a step.

Ringo saw me standing like a frightened deer and laughed. He walked away from where he was signing autographs and walked to my side.

"C'mon scaredy-cat," he joked, putting an arm around my shoulder. I'm sure the tingly feeling in my stomach would have been much more intense, had I not been intimidated by the looks all the girls were giving me.

We walked back over to where Paul and George were signing autographs and John was flirting with a young woman who was wearing a very revealing top. I rolled my eyes. Typical John.

Feeling a bit more confident, I walked away from Ringo and grabbed John's arm. He looked around for his attacker that was pulling him away from the woman, probably assuming it was a fan. She gave me a dirty look and I just laughed. John finally realized it was me that was pulling him away, and his look of fear vanished.

"So long love, the devil has come to take me away!" He cried out dramatically to the woman. I scoffed and let go of him so I could smack his shoulder with my good hand.

"John Lennon, I am not the devil! I just don't want the poor girl to get her hopes up!"

"She's got you there mate. You tend to do that a lot. A small chat with a bird and she takes that as an invitation into your bed!" Paul exclaimed, walking up to us. John just laughed and finally walked up the steps and disappeared into the flat. Soon after the other three said goodbye and we all went inside.

Paul disappeared and then returned with a wrap to wrap my wrist in. He wrapped it up carefully and neatly, and once he was satisfied he walked off into the kitchen to get me a bag of ice. When he returned I surprised him by pulling him into a hug and then placing a kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked. I smiled.

"Because you guys are the best," I said as I hugged and kissed John's cheek next.

"We know," George said as I walked up to him to do what I had done with Paul and John. Ringo smiled at me, and I got little butterflies as I walked up to him. My hug with him the tightest of all four. I wanted him to know that I really appreciated everything he had done for me that day. I also made this kiss on his cheek last longer than necessary. But his cheeks were really soft and it was a nice feeling.

"Well," John said as he pulled Ringo and I apart so he could walk through, "when you're done making out with Ringo's cheek, we can make some lunch and get you settled in. I'd like to wait until all the gatebirds are gone before we move in your luggage."

I nodded, agreeing. I didn't want anyone to know I was living with the Beatles quite yet. Although I knew when people found out, things would get interesting.

**Okay, sorry about the crappy end of this chapter, I just REALLY needed to end it finally. This is the longest chapter I've written, and because of that it's taken me forever to update. Thanks everyone who reviewed and favorited/alerted this story! It means a lot! So let me know what you guys thought about this chapter in a review! Go! NOW! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**xXxXx**

"Come on Eppy, pleeeaasseeee!"

"No! You ought to thank your lucky stars I'm letting her live here with you!"

"Well.. technically _we _make the decisions because _we_ pay the rent here soo…"

"Oh shut your trap John."

"Only if you let her come!"

"What part of 'no' do you gits not understand?"

"Well, there's the N-"

"And that damned O gets me every time as well."

"Paul, John, you two are seconds away from getting this cup of coffee poured on your heads. I said no damn it!"

"But-"

I sighed and decided I should finally speak up. "Guys, quit your bickering. Brian doesn't want me to come, and I respect that."

Paul and John sat down on the couch with a look of defeat on their faces. Brian nodded and then turned to me.

"It's not that I have anything against you, you seem like a great gal, really. It's just-"

"Publicity," I finished for him. He looked surprised for a minute but it was gone and replaced with one of curiosity.

"How did you-"

"Well it's only obvious," I said smiling and taking a seat next to Ringo on the couch. "How would it look if reporters and critics saw a random bird going on tour with the Beatles? They would start to make untrue assumptions and things would eventually get out of control."

Brian smiled and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "I like you, King. Maybe it'll do the boys some good to have you around. But until then, they need to start packing because we leave for Worcester tomorrow, _bright and early_."

The four boys groaned and mumbled complaints. Brian finished his cup of coffee and bid us all a goodnight and left, but not before telling the boys the cab to take them to the train station would arrive around 6 the next morning. That earned even more groans, but Brian was already out the door.

"Well he seems like a nice guy!" I said cheerfully. John scoffed.

"He usually is, but he's being a prick about not letting you come along!"He complained. I just shrugged not really minding. Honestly, I didn't know if I was ready to take that next step and go on tour with them, even if they were only going to be a few hours away. It was still hard enough to accept the fact that I was _living _with them, and it's been almost three weeks. We went out a few times a week, but that usually resulted in getting swarmed by a bunch of girls. That was more than enough craziness for me. Imagine what it would be like at a concert!

Ringo started laughing suddenly, causing all of us to stare at him. He kept laughing for a few before he realized that we were staring, waiting for an explanation. "Maybe Eppy's so uptight about her going because he just wants it to be us guys," he said. The way he said it though, made me think that there was more to it than I knew. Apparently there was because John, Paul and George cracked up like it was the funniest thing they ever heard.

"Bloody hell, I didn't even think of that!" George exclaimed through his laughter. Paul wiped a tear from his eye.

"As disturbing of a thought that is, it's bloody funny."

I just sat there awkwardly looking at the three boys, hoping one would explain what was going on. Ringo say my questioning look but just shook his head. "Maybe another time love," was all he said. I nodded slowly and then stood up suddenly.

"Alright you lot, get packing. I don't want you all fussing about in the morning to get everything together fifteen minutes before the cab arrives."

John stood up, his back as straight as a board. "Yes sir!" He said firmly, saluting me. I laughed and called out, "It's Miss Sir to you, mister!" as he walked past. I heard him laughing all the way to his room. The other three boys got up as well and slowly dragged themselves to their rooms, obviously not looking forward to packing. As soon as I saw the last boy was in his room, I walked into the kitchen and started a pot of tea. In California I had never really been a big fan of tea, always favoring Coke over everything, but ever since I moved here I learned to love it. I had to drink it with more sugar than any normal person would, but I still loved it!

I let my mind wander as I leaned against the kitchen counter. The loud squeal of the kettle brought me back out a few minutes later, and I removed it from the stove and prepared five cups of tea. I sipped on mine as I prepared four turkey and ham sandwiches, and drained the rest of the cup before I headed back towards the bedrooms, sandwiches on one tray, the tea in the other.

"Aw, thanks love, you shouldn't have," Paul said as I handed him a cup and a sandwich. He kissed my cheek and dug right into his meal. I left Paul's room and walked across the hall to George's. He thanked me kindly for the sandwich and tea, then went straight back to packing. Next was John's room. It was completely opposite of Paul and George's neat rooms. Clothes were everywhere, a guitar lay on the floor, and there was a small desk in the corner covered in papers.

"Ah John, this is the picture of luxury," I said sarcastically as I stepped over his guitar. I barely had time to put the sandwich on the bed before something landed on my face, blinding me for a moment. Whatever it was slid down my face and landed on the plate that had the remaining sandwich on it. I looked down to see what it was and then back up at John, horrified.

"Is that-"

"Sorry love, thought you were someone else. You can keep 'em though, if you'd like," he said, winking. I carefully set down the tea tray and then used my now free hand to pick up the pair of briefs that were folded over my arm. Gagging, I threw them back at John. He just chuckled.

"You know, most girls would love to have those."

"Well, I'm not most girls," I said. I handed him his cup of tea, then surprised him by throwing his sandwich at him. The sandwich came apart mid-air, so pieces of ham and turkey landed on his face and shoulder, and the bread landed in his lap.

"Bon Appetit," I said in my best French accent before leaving his room giggling. I was still giggling as I walked into Ringo's, and the sight I saw made me laugh even harder. Ringo was sitting cross legged on his bed, fumbling to fold his shirt. I leaned in the doorway for a few minutes, watching him.

Ringo and I had become close in the three weeks I had lived with the four. We had often found ourselves the last two in the living room having late night talks. He was different from the other three. While he was just as bad drinking and drug wise, he wasn't nearly as bad girl wise. He didn't brag, and he didn't use girls for sex like John tended to do. He actually talked to the girl, and got to know her, not just the inside of her mouth. He was very sweet, and there was a certain feel of innocence around him, though I knew he wasn't innocent. I think it was just his adorableness, and those big blue puppy dog eyes. I wouldn't lie and deny that I had grown a small crush on him over the time I had known him. But I tried not to think about it too much because he was a Beatle, and I was just a normal girl. I wasn't a supermodel or an actress like most of the girls they dated.

"Are you having trouble?" I asked finally. Ringo jumped, dropping the shirt he had failed to fold after many attempts. He saw it was me and smiled and patted the bed next to him. I put down the two trays on his desk, grabbing the last cup of tea and sandwich. As I sat down I handed them to him, and he acted as if it were a million dollars I had just given him. He placed the tea on his bedside table and immediately dug into his sandwich. Laughing, I grabbed the shirt out of his lap, folded it, and went to put it in his suitcase. When I flipped open the top, I saw that his clothes were just thrown in there and if they stayed like that, they were sure to wrinkle.

"Ringo you can't leave your clothes like this! They'll wrinkle, and then you'll have to perform in wrinkled clothing!" I exclaimed, pulling his clothes out of the suitcase. He just shrugged

"That's what irons are for, love!"

I tried to ignore the little tingly feeling I got when he called me love. They all called me that, but Ringo just had a different effect on me. "Well I highly doubt any of you lot know how to work an iron without burning yourselves."

Ringo looked like he was about to protest, but then thought about it and nodded, laughing. "Yeah, you're probably right!"

I giggled. "And we can't have one of you four burning your hand before a show! Imagine how mad all those girls would be if you had to cancel!"

Ringo thought about it and shuddered. "I don't even want to think about that!"

"Yeah, and I'd be getting a phone call from the hotel and Brian would be telling me about how you idiots tried to iron one shirt and ended up getting the whole show cancelled!"

Ringo laughed again, then frowned suddenly. I instantly feared I had said something wrong and bit my lip.

"It really sucks that you can't come with us," Ringo said. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and smiled sadly.

"Yeah, it does. But I mean, it's only for about two weeks, and then you're back again! And pretty soon you'll be glad I hadn't gone with you guys because I'll just annoy the crap outta ya," I said smirking. Ringo laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I could never get annoyed with you." I could feel my cheeks heat up as he said that. I tried to play off my blushing with a joke. "Wish I could say the same thing about you!"

"Oh so that's how it's gonna be?" He asked. There was a devious glint in his big blue eyes, and I couldn't help but wonder why. I also wondered why Ringo was slowly picking up his pillow, and then it hit me. Literally.

I blinked a few times to realize what was happening. "Did you just hit me with that pillow?" I asked. Ringo smirked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. What are you going to do about it, huh?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Oh it's on Starr!" I cried out as I quickly grabbed a pillow and lunged for him.

"Bring it King-emmfff!" The last part of his sentence was muffled as I hit him in the face with my pillow. He laughed and hit my back, and that marked the start of our pillow war. We rolled around on the bed, smacking each other as hard as we could with pillows. We did this for about five minutes before we heard something hit the floor and shatter. I sat up instantly, and looked around. On the floor was the teacup broken into tiny bits, laying in a pool of tea. I looked up at Ringo, my mouth forming an O.

"See what you did Ringo! You broke the cup!"

He looked at me, pretending to be offended. "I did no such thing! I believe it was you who broke the teacup, ma'am."

I didn't answer to that, only smacking him in the face with my pillow, starting us off again. I accidentally kicked the suitcase off the bed, but neither of us really acknowledged it. We were both too caught up in fighting.

"Ow! Ow Ringo!" I cried out suddenly before he was about to hit me again. He froze in his spot and lowered the pillow. He looked at me with concern.

"What is it? Did I hurt you?"

I was quite for a long time, putting on my best sad face. He looked like he was ready to apologize, but I quickly stopped him by smacking him upside the head, giggling.

"Nah. Fooled ya," I said winking. He looked shocked, then slowly grinning.

"Yer a crafty one, aren't ya, Miss King?" He wagged his pointed finger at me. I laughed and hit him again.

"Alright," he finally said, "that's enough!" And with a battle cry, he pinned me to the bed and started to smother me with the pillow. I tried to fight him by kicking and flailing my arms, but he somehow evaded all that. After what seemed like forever, he finally removed the pillow from my face. I was taken aback slightly at how close he was to me. He lay slanted across the bed, but his chest was hovering over mine, and he had both his arms on either side of me, propping himself up. His nose was nearly touching mine. But then again, he did have a relatively big nose…

But regardless, it was much closer than our faces have ever really been, and I couldn't help but to realize how easy it would be to just lean forward a bit and meet his lips with mine. I pushed that thought away quickly though, as I was afraid that if I thought about it too much I would actually do it.

His blue eyes searched mine for a long time, and his smile slowly fell. "You know," he said softly, "I'm really going to miss you."

Once again I felt my cheeks heat up and that stupid tingly feeling in my stomach returned. I laughed nervously. "It's only going to be for about two weeks! And we can always phone each other!"

He still looked sad. "It's just not the same. I'm going to miss staying up late, talking to you in person."

"Ring, you make it sound like you're leaving forever!"

He shrugged. "It kinda feels like it, too be honest."

I blushed even deeper at that, and smiled. "Awh, Ringo, you're too sweet." I leaned up and placed a kiss softly on his cheek. I felt his cheek move as he pulled his lips up into a smile. He wrapped one arm around my back and slowly lowered us down, so my back was on the bed once again. He wrapped the other arm around my back, and we lay there, hugging.

It was a really nice feeling, all those butterflies in my stomach. They were impossible to ignore this time, as this was the most intimate moment Ringo and I had ever had. And I wasn't even going to lie. I loved it. My nose was buried in his hair, so I could smell the scent of his shampoo. It was a sweet smell, nicer than any shampoo I've ever smelt. His hair tickled my nose a bit, making me giggle.

"What?" He asked, not bothering to move. I giggled again as his lips brushed against my neck, tickling me even more.

"Your hair is tickling my nose," I told him. He just hummed in reply, still not moving.

I took me a minute to realize that Ringo's lips were pressed up against my neck. No, not kissing my neck, but they were still there. I immediately started to get nervous, and that feeling in my stomach got a million times more intense. What if he did kiss my neck? Oh God, what would I do then?

Ringo sighed softly, but he still didn't move. I didn't really mind, I liked laying here like this. Who knew if it would ever happen again? So I just tried to make the best of it, and for once let my feelings for Ringo have some freedom and enjoy the moment.

"Oi, Rings, have you seen- Oh! Hey Paulie, I found her! She's in here necking with Ringo!"

Ringo sat up instantly, and I turned a deep red. Paul came in shortly and saw how disoriented I looked from the pillow fight. But he assumed that Ringo and I had been necking, which we hadn't.

"We haven't done anything! I was just giving her a hug, tha's all!" Ringo defended. John raised his eyebrows.

"Oh really? Then why are you both redder than a couple of tomatoes?"

"Yeah," Paul joined, "And if nothing had been happening, why is the teacup broken and your suitcase on the ground!"

"W-we got into a little pillow fight, see, and we kinda knocked over those things in the process," I stuttered, trying to calm myself down a bit. Neither of them seemed to believe it, but they just gave us one last look and left the room quietly. I looked at Ringo, and saw that he was blushing. I couldn't deny the fact that he looked absolutely adorable with his cheeks tinted red.

"Well, that was embarrassing," He said, laughing awkwardly. I nodded in agreement. I got off the bed and picked up his suitcase. I put it back on his bed, then picked up the shattered teacup's pieces and put them on the trays.

"Well, I better go do the dishes and get to bed. Do me a favor and wake me up in the morning, will you? I'd like to see you guys off."

He nodded, and got off the bed as well. Walking quickly over to me, he pecked my cheek softly. "Goodnight Mel," he said, giving me a shy smile.

"Uh, g-goodnight Ringo," I replied, trying my hardest not to turn a bright red again. He chuckled at my expression, and watched as I stumbled clumsily out the door. I closed it behind me, and when I turned back around, I nearly ran into George. He steadied me with his hands, then looked at my face. He saw my expression and tinted cheeks and grinned. He gave me a knowing look before disappearing into his room. I just sighed and walked to the kitchen.

I finished up the dishes and eagerly crawled into bed. I couldn't help but to keep thinking about what had happened early, and every time I thought about it I just felt giggly. Oh gosh, this was not happening to me.

I sighed and tried to go to sleep, remembering that I had to be up at the crack of dawn the next morning.

**XxXxX**

"Melissa," I heard a voice say in a sing-song voice, bringing me out of my sleep. I inwardly groaned and ignored the voice, rolling over to my side. I heard the person chuckle quietly, and he tried singing my name again. I didn't move.

I did however become aware when I felt the bed shift and felt someone sitting next to me. There was a hand on my shoulder and the person began to gently shake me. "Come on Mel, you've got to get up. You want to see us off, don't you?"

"Fine. Goodbye," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Awh, c'mon Mel. All you have to do is get up for a few minutes, then you can go right back to sleep."

I shook my head, humming "Uh-uh."

"Fine then, be that way! I'll just make you get up!" And with that, I felt the warm covers be pulled away from me. I was only in a long-sleeved shorts and boxer shorts, so it was not very warm. I rolled over onto my back and glared at the person, who turned out to be a grinning Ringo.

"Ringo, give me back my cover!" I said, trying to grab them from him. He just shook his head and held them out of my reach. After a few failed attempts at reaching up to get them, I finally stopped.

"Pwetty pwease?" I asked in a baby like voice, giving him my best puppy dog face. He looked down at me, and for a second I thought he was going to give in. But he shook his head, still being stubborn. I tried not to let my disappointment show as I rested my head on his thigh, which was right by my face. I nuzzled my face into his leg.

"I'll love you forever!" I said in the baby voice again. It was quite, and then I heard him sigh.

"I'll give them back as long as you _promise_ to get up," he said. I nodded and looked up at him.

"Deal!"

He reluctantly handed me the blanket, and I just gave him a sweet smile as I took it from him. Before he could say anything else, I quickly covered my whole body with the blanket, making a cocoon. I heard Ringo groan.

"I knew I shouldn't have given you the blanket!"

I just giggled and snuggled into my pillow, ready to go to sleep.

"Hm, maybe this will get you up," he said quietly. Before I could question his motives, I felt the weight of the bed shift again, then out of nowhere I felt something crushing me. It took me a moment to realize that Ringo was actually sitting on top of me. I could feel his body shaking as he laughed. "Are you going to get up?"

I shook my head, still being stubborn. Well, even if I wanted to get up I wouldn't have been able to. He started to push himself up and down, causing the whole bed, and me, to shake.

"Ringo, stop it!" The pitch of my voice shook up and down in rhythm to Ringo's movements. He just laughed again.

"Not until you get up!"

Not knowing how much longer my poor spine could take this, I finally agreed to get up. Ringo got off me, and stood next to my bed giving me a smug smile. I just glared at him as I sat up and pushed the covers off me.

"I hate you, I hope you know that," I said, still glaring. He shook his head, smiling.

"You can't hate me love. If I remember correctly, you said that if I gave you back the cover you would love me forever. I gave them back, so you have to love me forever!"

My eyes narrowed even more. "Oh really? Well, I lied. Ha!" I stuck my tongue out at him. He chuckled and pushed me out the door. John and Paul were in the hallway talking when I came stumbling out, and they both grinned.

"Aye look, sleeping beauty is awake!" Paul exclaimed. John shook his head.

"More like sleeping beast." I gave him a sarcastic smile and flipped him the bird. He just chuckled.

"You're becoming more and more like us every day!"

"I'm so proud! Our little Mel is growing up!" Paul cried out, leaning against John's shoulder and pretending to wipe away a tear. I shoved into them as I walked past on my way into the kitchen.

"Keep that up love and you'll never find yourself a man!" John shouted from the hallway. I just rolled my eyes and kept walking . George was sitting at the table, sipping a cup of tea and munching on a piece of toast. I smiled and sat down at the table. Finally someone I could put up with.

"Morning Mel!" He said cheerfully before he took another bite of his toast. I smiled at him, not only because he was being nice, but because he was actually being calm, unlike the other three.

"Morning George. Are you excited for the tour?"

He nodded and grinned. "Yeah! Tours are always fun. All the fans, playing our music, the afterparty, and of course; the pool!"

I laughed at that because when George mentioned the pool his face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. I guessed they loved to swim!

The other three boys came in and sat down at the table as well. I couldn't help but notice the funny looks John and Paul were giving me. I tried to ignore it, but it was hard.

"Yes John, I know I'm beautiful, now please stop staring!" I snapped finally. John gave me and innocent look.

"Oh I was just trying to figure out what movie I think I saw you in the other day.. Oh! I've got it! It was _The Thing From Another World!_"

"Oh ha-ha John, very clever," I said, rolling my eyes. He gave me a really cheesy smile, making me laugh. We all chatted for a while until there was a knock on the door. Paul got up and answered it, and it turned out to be a man who was going to take their luggage to the train station ahead of time.

"We need to go ahead and get your stuff loaded up before. There's bound to be a mob of girls, and we need to get you on that train as quickly as possible. It's just easier this way because we don't have to worry about your luggage," he told us as he grabbed Paul's suitcases. We all nodded in agreement, and watched as he loaded the car.

"Well, this is it, my dear friend," John said dramatically as he turned to me. I scoffed.

"You're worse than Ringo! It's only going to be for a few weeks, not forever!"

Paul placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ah, but can our little friend manage to get by for a few weeks without us men to tell you what to do?"

I gave him an You've-got-to-be-kidding-me look. "That is probably the most sexist thing I have ever heard from you, McCartney. And I'll have you know that if I manage myself for two months, I can handle a few weeks."

"True that," he said, smirking.

In about fifteen minutes their luggage was gone, and the cab was waiting outside to take them away. I gave each of them a hug and a peck on the cheek. (Again, Ringo's was tighter and longer than the rest, but shh!)

"You lot stay out of trouble, okay? Don't go trashing the hotel room or anything. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine, but be sure to phone every night!"

The four of them saluted at me, and then it was their turn to each give me a hug and kiss on the cheek. I couldn't help but notice that Ringo's kiss was a little bit closer to my mouth than a kiss on the cheek should be. I didn't mind though, though when he pulled away I was sad. I watched them through the window as they walked out and pushed their way through the crowd of girls to get to the car. None of them looked back at the house because they didn't want anyone to know I was here.

They finally made it safely into the car, and the driver wasted no time in driving off quickly. A lot of the girls chased after the car screaming, but some of them just left the house to go home.

I sighed and walked away from the window, deciding that there was no way I was going back to sleep now. So I headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast, thinking about how this was about to be a long few weeks.

**xXxXx**

The first week went by quicker than I expected. I kept myself busy by cleaning the house- it took a lot longer than I expected, these boys were dirty!-, baking a bunch of stuff, reading a few books I had found in John's room, and even meeting up with Kat a few times.

She was angry, sad, and excited all at once when I told her about the events that had happened over the past three weeks. I hadn't thought to call her, but she had apparently tried to reach me numerous times. She told me that Thomas never answered her phone calls, so she started to get worried. She didn't believe me at first when I told her where I was staying, but once I actually brought her into the house, she freaked out.

"OH MY GOSH IS THIS ACTUALLY JOHN'S BED? ITS ACTUALLY JOHN'S BED. AND ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THEY ALL SHOWER IN THAT SHOWER? AND THEY'VE USED THAT SOAP? THEY'VE ACTUALLY USED THAT SOAP AGAINST THEIR WET, STEAMY-"

I never let her finish that. We had lunch a few times in their house, but I made her swear she wouldn't tell anyone. Kat usually had a big mouth when it came to things like that, but I knew that if I asked her, she wouldn't tell.

It wasn't until it was the Tuesday of the second week when things got horribly bad. I was sitting in the living room, watching some weird movie. It was just after lunch, so I had just finished up my sandwich and had some chocolate chip cookies in the oven. I was expecting Kat to come over any second, because we agreed to meet up and do some shopping for a party she was going to. She tried to get me to go along with her, but I wasn't exactly in the partying mood. It had been awhile since I've seen the four boys I've grown fond of, and even though they called every night like they promised, it just wasn't the same chatting with them for only a few minutes. Especially with Ringo. I missed him more than I wanted to admit.

There was a knock on the backdoor- we had to use that one so nobody actually saw us go into the house, because the backdoor led to an ally that nobody ever really went to- and I got up from the couch lazily to answer it.

"C'mon Kat, you should know by now to just open the door and walk in," I said as I opened to door, expecting to see my best friend eagerly standing on the steps. But when I saw who it was, I froze. My hand started to shake on the doorknob, and a huge lump formed in my throat. It wasn't Kat.

It was Thomas.

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. Okay yeah, I had to end that with a cliffhanger. I just had to. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, it means a lot Although, I'm really not getting as many reviews as I'd like to be getting. That sounds selfish, I know, but I just really want to know how people feel about my story! So if you're reading this, please please PLEASE review and let me know if you like it or not. Also, I'd like some ideas as to what to do next. I have a few of my own, I just don't know if I like them or not. So if you have any ideas, feel free to tell me And if I don't update for a few days, I'm sorry! But school is starting next week, and on top of getting everything ready for that, I haven't even started all my summer homework. So I really need to get on that. But knowing me, I'll probably end up writing this instead of reading The Grapes of Wrath. ;) Well, until next time, fellow readers! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**xXxXx**

I stared at him, not moving or even breathing. What was he doing here? How did he find me? Oh God, what if he tried something.. I was all alone, and even worse nobody but Kat knew – or was allowed to know- that I was here. Thomas smiled up at me sweetly, like he was the nicest person in the world.

"Miss me doll?"

I took a bunch of deep breaths, trying to get my voice back. I finally managed to get out, "W-what are you doing here?" but it was still shaky. Thomas just laughed.

"I came to get you back, love. It's been three weeks, I miss you. Come home."

I just stared at him. Was he serious? Was he being serious? I just shook my head and started to close the door. "You need to leave." It wouldn't close all the way though, and I saw that Thomas had stuck his foot in between the door and the frame, stopping me.

"I'm not leaving here without you. Where are your little boyfriends? Are they not here to protect you?"

I ignored him and tried to kick his foot out of the doorway. It wouldn't budge though. "I only want you to come home sweetie.. I miss you." He said softly, leaning close to me. He put a finger up to my cheek and gently stroked it.

I jerked my face away, but he just grabbed my jaw firmly in his hands and forced me to look at him.

"It sure is getting lonely at home.. come on back, baby. I swear this time it'll be different." He leaned in closer and I could practically smell the sweat on his forehead. "Just you and me.. nothing else.." Much to my displeasure he closed the gap between us and crushed his lips against mine. I tried to jerk away but his strong hands kept me in place. He forced his tongue into my mouth and I tried not to gag at the taste of his mouth. It was a mixture of alcohol and who knows what else.

He finally pulled away after what felt like forever, and I took deep gulps of clean, not disgusting air. He grinned at me. "God I've missed those lips. C'mon baby, let's go back home and I can become acquainted with your other pair of lips." He winked. I didn't even try hiding my repulsion at that statement. That was probably the worst pick up line I had ever heard, and the stupidest too.

"I'm not going back with you. I like it here, and if you couldn't tell by John's punch, we're over," I told him firmly. His face hardened at that one, but he was still persistent.

"Come on baby, what are these guys giving you that I can't? Do you enjoy being their little whore?"

"I am _not _their little whore. They're like brothers to me, and they treat me with respect, unlike you. Now seriously, you need to go."

We stared at each other for a minute, but he finally stepped down. I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, feeling out of breath.

I finally was able to stand without my knees giving out, so I decided to get some tea ready for when Kat came over. I needed to forget about that whole thing.

A half hour later there was a loud knock on the back door, and it swung open. I turned around and saw my best friend standing in the doorway, grinning like an idiot.

"I never will be able to accept the fact that I am in the home of the _Beatles_, the most amazing band ever!" She squealed as she took a seat at the table. I poured her a cup of tea and took a seat as well.

"Sometimes I still can't accept it," I said laughing slightly. Kat immediately noticed that I wasn't myself, and she frowned.

"What's wrong?"

I tried to play it off like it was nothing. "I'm fine!" She gave me a look that told me she clearly didn't believe me. I sighed and decided I should tell her about Thomas.

Sighing and running a hand through my hair, I told her about what had happened earlier. Her face became grim as she listened.

"How in the world did he find you?" She asked after I finished telling her. I shrugged.

"I mean, he knew I was with them. And they are the Beatles. They can't exactly keep their location a secret. I just never thought he would go through all that trouble.." I sighed again and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I just.. I really hope he doesn't come back. He didn't try anything this time but.."

Kat just nodded slowly, taking her hand in mine. "It's going to be okay, dear. Don't worry, he won't try anything."

I just shrugged and took a shaky breath, praying she was right. She saw how uncomfortable I was and perked up immediately. "Let's talk about something different. How are the boys?"

I smiled at that, my mood improving a bit. "They're fine. They're having a blast, and so far they haven't managed to ruin much. Brian on the other hand," I chuckled, remembering the story Ringo had told me. Kat looked at me eagerly, waiting for me to go on.

"Well they were driving to a club one night, as their only show was in the afternoon, and Brian was driving. They had no idea how bad he was with stoplights. He went when they were red, and stopped when they were green. Well he ran the red light and crossed a junction, almost causing many accidents. Ringo said that a police officer saw them running all the lights and almost causing accidents and he started chasing after the car. He said that Brian didn't even realize it until all of them screamed at him to stop. He was completely in his own zone," I finished laughing. Kat was giggling along as she sipped her tea.

"They also told me that they came back to their hotel room to find a few erm.. presents from some fans. I guess the hotel staff didn't see them quick enough to remove them." I chuckled. Kat gave me a questioning look.

"What kind of-"

"Underwear," I cut her off. "Bras. All of different colors and sizes. Needless to say, they were both flattered and creeped out at the same time."

Kat giggled. "I bet John liked them." I opened my mouth to protest, then thought about it for a minute. I giggled and nodded, agreeing with her. I thought about what John's expression would have been when he saw all those underwear and bras. My smile faltered a little bit, and being the best friend that she is, Kat didn't miss a beat.

"You miss them, don't you?"

I nodded, smiling sadly. "I mean, it's only been a week and a few days, and it feels like forever. That sounds really weird, but I'm used to being with them all the time, even in the studio. They're pretty much my family now." I told her. She smiled and nodded.

"I can only imagine. I don't know them like you do." She winked. "So.. which one do you like?"

"All of them!" I answered, not really thinking about the question. She gave me a look and shook her head.

"No, I mean.. which one do you _like _like? The one you fancy? The one whose clothes you just want to rip off and-"

I blushed and cut her off. "None of them, Kathleen! I do not fancy any of them, they're all like my brothers."

"Then why're you blushing then, huh?" She asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow. I tried to think of an answer to that, but I just stuttered my words. She leaned back in her chair, a triumphant grin still on her lips. "So which one is it? Is it Paul?"

I scoffed. "It is definitely not Paul," I said without thinking. Kat snapped up in her seat.

"AHA!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at me. "So you admit it! You DO fancy one of them!"

I blushed again, realizing that I had revealed that I did fancy one of them. "I-I did no such thing!"

Kat rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. Now which one is it? It's not Paul.. John? George? Ringo?"

I blushed a bit deeper when she mentioned Ringo's name. Her eyes got wide and she flapped her hands excitedly. "It's Ringo isn't it?! It's Ringo! Ringo-o! MELISSA LOVES RINGOOOOOO!" She shouted, standing up. She danced around the room singing "MELISSA LOVES RINGOOO!"

I sank into my chair, my face probably as red as a tomato now, trying to hide my face with my hair. I knew there was no trying to deny it now- Kat knew. And even if she wasn't right, she would still go on believing that she was.

She stopped singing and dancing and walked back over to me. She had an eager look in her eyes, and I groaned, knowing questions were coming.

"So spill; have you guys kissed? Is he good? Are his lips soft? Have you seen him shirtless? Does he have a nice body? What about his bum? I always thought he had a nice bum.. What about sleeping? Oh my god have you guys had sex?" She asked all at once in a rush.

I sighed. "No, I don't know, yes, no, probably, yes, no, and God no!"

She thought about my answers for a second, nodding slowly. Her head snapped up suddenly. "Wait! If you haven't kissed how do you know his lips are soft?"

"Well, he's kissed my cheek before, but that's about it," I said softly. Kat squealed nonetheless.

"You two are going to be so adorable together! Ah!" She squealed again. I laughed dryly and shook my head.

"Nothing is going to happen between us, I can tell you that. He's Ringo Starr, a big celebrity. I'm just Melissa King, a normal nobody. He doesn't go for my type Kat. I'm not a famous supermodel or actress or even very pretty for that matter. I'm always just going to be a normal girl to him."

She slammed her fist on the table, making me jump up in surprise. "Don't talk like that Mel! You're not just some normal nobody, you're _living with the Beatles_, for Christ's sake! And they don't always go for the famous ones. And don't even get me started on your looks. You are beautiful, girl. I think you have a chance."

I just shrugged, still feeling a bit glum. She looked like she wanted to continue on that topic, but I quickly changed it to her love life. And for the next few hours we gossiped about Roger, some random bimbos that had tried to get with him, and the epic smackdown that went down between them and Kat.

I decided against going out to shop with her like we had originally planned. I didn't feel like shopping or going out after today's events. Kat seemed okay with that but decided to go on shopping anyways. We said our goodbyes a little after four, and the rest of the night was relatively peaceful and quite. I decided around ten to lay down for awhile because I didn't feel good.

I tossed and turned in my bed for a good fifteen minutes before I finally decided that I just couldn't get comfortable. My bed just wasn't working out for me. It felt odd to me, like it just wasn't where my body wanted to be. So I stood up and let my legs carry me to wherever they wanted to go, and a few seconds later I found myself standing in front of Ringo's door. I smiled without realizing it and pushed the door open. I walked over to his bed and sat down. I realized that it felt a lot more comfortable than mine did.

I crawled under his covers and lay down, finding it much, much easier to get comfortable. I snuggled into his pillow and took a deep breath, also breathing in the scent of the pillow. I smiled because it smelled like him. I couldn't really describe his smell, but I knew that it smelled damn good.

The thought crossed my mind that I was being a bit creepy, laying in his bed. But then I realized that I just really missed him, and being in his room just made me feel like he was here again. Then I realized that I was acting way too weird about this. I mean, he had only been gone for not even two weeks.

But I just missed his face, and his eyes, and his cute laugh, and his adorable smile, and the way he flips his hair occasionally, and even his nose. And even though I talked to him on the phone every night after I talked to each of the other guys, it just wasn't the same as talking to him person. I just really missed him.

I guess I never really put much thought into how much I liked him, but just knew that I did like him. It was then, as I lay in his bed snuggling up to his pillow, that I realized how much I liked him. I definitely liked him more than a little, but I don't know if a lot would be the word to describe it. Somewhere in the middle, I guess.

Smiling to myself again, I closed my eyes. For a minute, I actually felt like it was that night where Ringo and I just laid there, hugging. I felt like the pillow was him, and even though I knew it wasn't, that was enough to make me happy and sleepy. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander off.

Sometime after I had drifted off, the phone began to ring loudly and obnoxiously, waking me up. I almost decided not to get up and answer it, but then I realized it may have been one of the boys calling so I dragged myself out of the bed. I walked into the living room and answered the phone not so energetically.

"Hello?" I asked in a very tired, monotone voice. The background noise of the other line was very loud and I could hear many people laughing.

"'Ello lovely," a drunken voice slurred. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"John, you're wasted out of your mind. Why are you calling?" I asked. He knew very well I didn't like talking to them when they were drunk. I once even hung up on Paul because he tried to initiate uh.. phone sex.

"Jus' thought I'd ring you, tell you that I 'iss you! Is tha' so bad?" I laughed slightly because I could just imagine John's pouty face on the other end.

"Is any one of you lot sober? I'd prefer to talk to someone who will remember this conversation in the morning."

I heard John hum in concentration and then he hiccupped. "No, no I don't think s- oh wait! Here comes Ritchie now, he looks sobered up. Why 'on't you talk to 'im for a bit, eh?"

Before I could say anything, I heard some crackling on the other line and I figured John was handing over the phone towards Ringo. I could have sworn I heard John say faintly, "It's your girlfriend, mate." But that could have just been me.

"Hey Mel!" A new voice said, talking loudly over the noise of the other people. I couldn't hold back my smile as I said, "Hey Ringo. Having fun?"

"Oh yeah! This after party is a blast! Tons of people showed up."

I smiled. "That's wonderful. How'd the show go?"

There was a pause and muffled talking, and then there was a loud explosion of laughter. I winced at the sound. Even through the phone it was loud as hell.

"Oh it was great. A couple of birds even came up to me after the show and handed me a bunch of flowers and chocolate. I thought it was a bit weird, seeing as how I'm a man, but damn did that chocolate taste great!"

I laughed and was about to say something else, but paused when I heard a voice in the background. A girl's voice.

"Not now love," I heard him mumble quietly to the other person. "Just go on, I'll be over there in a minute."

There was another pause and then I heard him laugh and a girl's high pitched giggle. "Hey love, let me call you back in a bit," he said, sounding distracted.

"Alright," I said quietly. There was more laughter, a click, and then silence. I slowly put the phone down into its cradle and sank into a chair, suddenly feeling upset.

He was out with another girl, and who knew what they were going to do. It was like a slap in the face for me. But it was reality. He was one of the most famous guys in Britain. Of course he would never go for a normal girl like me. It was always the supermodels and actresses. There was nothing special about me. I wasn't blonde, I wasn't super skinny, and I while some would say I was gifted in the chest area, I didn't think that made much of a difference.

I stood up and yelled at myself mentally for thinking even for a minute that maybe he returned those feelings. But before I could start back towards the bedrooms, the phone rang again. I suddenly perked up. Maybe it was Ringo calling back!

"Hello? Ringo?" I asked excitedly.

"Uh, no. It's Kat. We're you expecting a call..?" Kat asked. I frowned and that sad feeling returned.

"Uh,]

'  
]

'\ no," I said quietly. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know the party was a bust. I can't find Roger either. Probably drunk in a ditch somewhere. So I'll be over in about twenty minutes, okay?"

I laughed at the way my friend said that her boyfriend was probably drunk in a ditch somewhere. "Alright, that's fine,"

She squealed happily. "Alright! See you soon!" Click.

I put the phone down for the second time and decided I should probably go make Ringo's bed. Kat sometimes liked to snoop around in their rooms, and I didn't want her questioning me.

After that was done, I decided to make tea. I laughed to myself as I realized how addicted I was becoming to tea. It just helped calm me down or make me feel better when I was upset. Where most people went to alcohol for those problems, I went to tea.

The whole time I was making the tea, I couldn't stop thinking about the phone call. I was so stupid for thinking that Ringo would never get with a random girl while on tour. He was a Beatle for Heaven's sake, of course he's going to have girls all over him, and of course he's going to find one he'll want to bed.

I wonder who that girl was.. She was probably a lot prettier than me, skinnier than me, funnier than me, more appealing than me. Her and Ringo were probably off.. doing who knows what. I didn't even want to think about it. But I couldn't help it.

I took my cup of tea and stood up, deciding to get some fresh air. I made sure the pot was off the oven before I stepped out into the cool night air. It was quite in the alley, only a few cars going past. I took a seat on the bottom step and sipped at my warm tea. The warm tea and cool air was pretty relaxing, and soon I didn't feel too upset about everything.

I didn't even know why I was so upset. It's not like him and I were anything. We were just friends. And I don't know how many times I told myself that he didn't go for my type. He never once hinted that maybe he liked me. Sure, he said he would miss me, and there was the pillow fight, and the hugging, and the occasional kiss on the cheek, but he was just being a good friend. That was probably all he saw me as. A good friend. That's probably all I would ever be to him. I took another drink, still feeling sad.

I was pulled out of my sad thoughts when I saw a shadow in the alley. I smiled and stood up and walked towards her, ready for my best friend to cheer me up like she always did.

"Hey Kat. Gosh, I'm so glad you came. I really need someone to rant to right now.. I was on the phone with Ringo and- Kat?"

I was so into going into my rant that I hadn't realized that she stopped walking towards me and was standing in the shadows.

"Kat, are you okay?"

No response. I was actually a bit creeped out, as she reminded me of a killer waiting to strike.

"Kat, if this is a joke, it isn't funny. I'm not in the mood.."

She finally started walking towards me again, still not saying a word. I had this uneasy feeling in my stomach, but I tried to brush it off.

I let out a nervous laugh. "You had me scared there for a minute Kat, not gonna lie. For a second I thought you were- Thomas?"

That feeling in my stomach came back and I suddenly wanted to run. Why was he back? "W-what are you doing back here? I thought I told you to leave me alone!"

He still stayed silent as he walked closer. Finally he spoke up, and his voice was husky. "You remember what I told you that night? Do you?"

I stayed silent and began to back up towards the door. He seemed to be getting closer and I couldn't get back fast enough.

"C'mon Melissa, do you remember? Do you remember what I told you?"

There was a crazed tone to his voice, and I really began to get scared. "Thomas, just go home. Just l-leave me alone."

He shook his head. "I can't Melissa. I can't leave you alone. I told you what would happen if you left me, and how would it look if I didn't follow my word?"

That was when it really hit me. He was really planning on doing what I thought he wanted to do. Before I could even move, I felt my arm being jerked, and suddenly my face was in a lot of pain. Coming to my senses, I saw Thomas's clenched fist and realized that he punched me. Not slap like usual- punch. And he did it again and again, until my vision began to spot up and I became lightheaded. Blood filled my mouth and I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. He finally stopped, and I fought to catch my breath and to not collapse.

Tears were flowing down my face and I looked at him. "Why are you doing this? Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm not doing anything to you, w-why can't you get let me go?" I shouted at him, clenching my fist. I was swaying dangerously, and I knew I wouldn't be able to stand up for too much longer.

Thomas didn't reply, just stood there breathing hard. I wasn't sure what he was going to do next. Was he going to keep hitting me? Or was he going to let me go?

I never really got to think about it much longer because the next thing I knew, I was on the ground looking up at the sky. I felt something warm and wet in the back of my head and realized that it was blood and that I hit my head pretty hard on the solid ground.

I lay there fighting to keep my consciousness. I could see Thomas looking down over me, and I wondered what he was going to do next. To my surprise, he knelt down next to me.

"I'm sorry. I really am." He said softly. He held out his hand to help pull me into a sitting position. I cautiously took his hand, and he pulled me up quickly. I cried out as I felt a very, very sharp pain in my side. I couldn't breathe and all I could do was sit there, eyes bulging and fighting for my breath. Finally it came, but it was shallow and fast. I looked at one of Thomas's hands and my fear was confirmed. In his left hand was a handheld knife covered to the hilt in blood.

He fucking stabbed me.

"When I told you that leaving me would be the last thing you would do, I fucking meant it." He growled. He raised the knife again, and I closed my eyes and waited for the final blow, too weak to fight.

"Melissa? Thomas? Oh my God! Melissa!" I heard someone scream. Thomas jumped up really fast and didn't even wait to see who it was. He took off sprinting and disappeared down the other alley. I squinted to see who it was, and was relieved to see Kat running to my side. As soon as she saw me she burst out into tears. She dropped down next to me and cradled me in her arms.

"Oh my God.. what happened?" She asked quietly.

"He.. he st-tabbed me.. call an ambulance please.." I whispered, still trying hard not to pass out and keep breathing. Kat nodded and took off her jacket. She placed in on the ground and gently laid me down so my head was resting on it. She ran inside, and left me to keep fighting. A few minutes later she ran back out.

"They're on their way Mel, just hang in there okay? Please, please hang in there for me.. I can't loose you.." She started crying harder. I wanted to reach up and comfort my crying friend, but I just couldn't find the strength. Breathing became even harder for me, and my eyes just got heavier with each second.

"Come on Mel, you can do it. Just don't go to sleep." She pleaded. I shook my head weakly, closing my eyes slowly.

"So tired.."

I winced as I felt her hand on my cheek, gently slapping it. "No Mel, no! Stay with me! I know you're tired, but you can't go to sleep!"

And I tried. I tried for her. I fought so hard to keep my eyes open, but I just couldn't do it. It was just too hard. I finally took a deep breath and closed my eyes, happy to let the sleepiness take me, and smiled slightly as the pain slowly faded, being replaced with a soothing numb feeling. From somewhere far, far off I heard what sounded like the siren of an ambulance and a voice pleading.

"No!" It said, getting fainter with each second. "No! Dammit Melissa King, _stay with me_!"

But I just couldn't do it. And finally, I slipped away into the darkness.

**Okay, so I tried to get this out as soon as possible for you guys. You guys seriously made me so happy with all the reviews I got, like oh my gosh. I couldn't just not update. I should be doing my summer homework right now, but you all are just more important. The Grapes of Wrath can wait. Thanks so much for all the reviews you guys gave me, really! I hope I can get even more for this chapter! I know you all aren't reviewing, and that makes me sad! I really want to know how you guys feel about this story! SO LET ME KNOW. Love you all **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**xXxXx**

**JOHN'S POV**

"My God, I've never had such a terrible headache," I heard George moan from the couch.

"I hear ya there lad, I feel like my head is going to fall off my body," Paul said. I groaned as my head pounded at the loudness of their voices.

"Keep it down, would ya? This ain't a fucking shouting match," I hissed, laying my head down on the cool table. I heard Ringo chuckle next to me.

"You lads are going to have a peachy time at the concert later tonight with them hangovers! Here, I'll go get some pills." I cringed at the loud scraping sound his chair made against the hardwood floor. He kept doing it too, and finally George had had enough of it.

"Jesus Christ Ringo, stop making that God-awful sound!"

He made one last terribly loud screech with the chair and disappeared down the hall of our gigantic suit, leaving the three of us to hold our heads in agony. Getting completely wasted out of my mind the night before probably wasn't the best idea, but God was it fun as hell. And then there was that one chick with the really nice tits.. Yup, totally worth it.

Ringo returned shortly, making sure to walk extra loudly and be the prick he was. He set down a glass of water and a pill on the table near me, then did the same with George and Paul. I took the pill, took a sip of the cool water and waited for the pill to do its magic. It didn't take too long for my pounding headache to weaken a bit.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked, once I figured I was able to talk loudly enough for everyone to hear me and not want to murder me.

"Well, we've got that interview at one," George said.

"And then we've got that small photo shoot for that teen magazine at four-thirty," Paul continued.

"Then we've got the concert at seven. The last concert of this tour!" Ringo exclaimed. I smiled and sat back in my chair.

"Then it's just three more days of interviews, then home sweet home," I said, sighing with relief. As much as I liked performing and the partying, I did miss my own bed. And Melissa, I would admit.

The girl really grew on me. She was just so sweet and fun to be around, and she didn't throw herself at me. Though that was rather disappointing to me because she was rather stunning. She could probably beat half the models in a beauty contest if she wanted. She had the most stunning blue eyes you ever did see and her tits…

I felt something hard hit my head, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Oi! John! You there up in that head of yours?" Paul shouted across the room. I glared at him and threw the lighter back, successfully hitting him in the head.

"I wonder what Mel's up to right now," I thought aloud, leaning back in my chair and propping my feet up on the table. The boys shrugged.

"She's probably sleeping. That girl loves to sleep," Ringo said. He laughed to himself; like there was something to his words that none of us would understand.

"She's probably snooping through all of our stuff, trying to find out our darkest secrets," George grinned.

"Oh God, I hope she doesn't look in me dresser.." I mumbled to myself. The others gave me a look, but I just shook my head.

"You guys are all idiots. She's definitely inviting a bunch of guys over to our place and.. getting the beds dirty. If ya know what I mean," Paul winked, opening his mouth wide as he did so. George snorted.

"She better stay off the couch," he said.

"Or the kitchen table!" I added. "Tables are for glasses, not for fucking!"

That one got a laugh out of everyone. Everyone except Ringo. He sat in his chair, eyebrows furrowed. "Ah, don't worry Richie. I was only kiddin'. Your girlfriend's not the type to do somethin' like that."

He looked up, turning red. "She's not me girlfriend!" He exclaimed rather defensively. Paul grinned.

"Ah, but you wish she was, yeah?"

"Don't lie to us Rings! I know when you're lying!"

I chuckled. "Georgie here's like Santa Claus, or whatever the fuck his name is. Apparently he knows when someone lies. Had me an American girl once, told me all about him. Didn't care enough to remember. She had nice tits though."

Paul rolled his eyes. "That's besides the point. Rings, it's pretty easy to see."

"Yeah! Especially last night, you wouldn't even dance with any good looking birds!" George exclaimed. Ringo turned even redder at that. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but he was cut off by the phone ringing. A look of relief washed over his face.

"Oh look, it's your girlfriend now, I bet!" Paul exclaimed, clapping his hands. I glared at Ringo as I got up to answer.

"This isn't over," I said in a menacing voice, making a motion with my fingers to say I watching him. I picked up the ringing phone.

"Hello, you've reached John Lennon. Sorry I couldn't answer your call, but I probably didn't feel like getting my lazy ass up to answer your unimportant call. So leave a message after the beep. BEEEP!" I was expecting it to be Melissa or Brian or even Neil on the other line, but I was shocked by the voice that responded.

"John, this isn't the time for that. It's an emergency."

The voice was rushed and it sounded like the person had been crying, or still was. I remembered that voice though; it was Kathleen. "Kathleen? How did you get this number? And why are you calling?"

The other boys gave me a confused look when I said that, and leaned in to listen closer.

"That's not important right now. And I'm calling because of Mel."

The way her voice cracked at Mel made me worry. Had something happened? "What about Mel?" I asked. I watched from the corner of my eye as Ringo straightened up at the mention of her name.

"John, it's horrible.. She's.. she's.." Kat started to cry harder over the phone. Now I was really worried. I bit my lip.

"Damn it Kat, what happened?"

"Thomas.. he.. he s-stabbed her.."Her voice was muffled again, and my heart dropped. She was stabbed? I sat down in the chair by the table. My sadness was replaced with raging anger.

"How the fuck did he find her? Is she okay?"

Now the boys were all standing around me, and I could see the worry in Ringo's eyes for the girl he fancied.

"I-I don't know. I was on my way over last night, a-and she was on the ground and h-he was standing over her and.. She's in critical condition. She hasn't woken up yet. I-I don't know if she will.."

The door to our suit opened, and Brian stepped into the living room. He saw all the boys huddled around me and walked slowly over, curious.

"Okay, well we'll come home as soon as possible. We weren't due to return for another three days, but this is too important."

"A-alright.. See you soon John.." She sniffled one last time then I heard a click. I slowly put the phone down, the word "stabbed" running through my mind. The four men around me stared, waiting for an explanation.

"Well," Brian finally broke the silence, "I don't know who that was, but I do know that they're not important enough to leave tour three days early!"

I looked at him and nodded slowly. "Brian, we need to go. It's important."

He frowned and crossed his arms. "More important than the thousands of fans that paid good money to see your concert tonight? More important than the interviews and photo shoots you have to attend? No John, it's not!"

I sighed, trying to keep my temper. "Brian-"

"No," he cut me off, "You lot are not leaving! You have a duty as a band, and right now this tour is more important than anything!"

I stood up quickly and angrily, knocking the chair against the wall loudly. "Goddamn it Brian, Melissa's been stabbed and is in the hospital in critical condition! I'm not sure about you, but I'm damn sure that she's more important to us than any bird attending our concert or any reporter or photographer!" I shouted, flailing my arms around.

There was silence. Nobody spoke after that, but they stared at me, completely shocked. I didn't even look at Ringo, for fear of what his face would display.

"W-what?" Paul asked quietly, eyes wide. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Kat called and told me that Thomas somehow found Melissa and uh.. stabbed her. I guess when he threatened to kill her all those weeks ago, he meant it. We're just lucky Kat got there in time. She would have been dead, had she not."

More silence followed, until Brian decided to finally speak up. "After tonight's concert you can pack up and be on your way. I'll call and cancel all the interviews and photo shoots we have for the last few days. I can't cancel the concert though. Like I said, too many fans would get angry, and it would be horrible for your guys' hard earned reputation. I hope you all can understand that. I'm terribly sorry about your friend, I know how much she means to you all." Nobody could deny the knowing look he gave Ringo, who turned a bit red.

We all nodded silently, still shocked about everything. Melissa was in the hospital in critical condition. It was all to unreal for some reason. Finally I decided to look up at Ringo. His face was as white a sheet.

"I'm gonna go to my room for a bit. Call me out when it's time to go." He said quietly, disappearing down the hall into his room. George started to go after him, but Paul put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Let 'em go."

George hesitated, but nodded and took a seat on the couch. Paul sat next to him, and I sat down at the kitchen table. Nobody talked.

**XxXxX**

**MELISSA'S POV**

_**A few days later**_

**xXxXx**

"_When I told you that leaving me would be the last thing you would do, I fucking meant it."__ He raised his bloodied knife high into the air, then brought it down-_

I jerked and sat up quickly, breathless and terrified. It took me a few moments to feel the excruciating pain in my side that made me cry out loudly. There were suddenly hands on my shoulder and I was being pushed gently back against the bed.

I looked at the person that pushed me down and blinked a few times to regain focus. My best friend was smiling at me, looking very happy. "Finally! You're awake!"

I blinked a few more times, still trying to fully register what she said. I looked around slowly and tried to remember where I was. When I finally realized it, I suddenly got very nauseous. Kat saw this immediately and grabbed a trash bin by the table and gave it to me. I barely had time to get a good grip on it before I emptied my stomach. Kat pulled back my hair and rubbed my back soothingly. Even after I finished, I sat there dry heaving over the bin. Kat pried it out of my hands gently and continued to rub my back.

"Kat," I croaked, "You know how much I hate hospitals.." And when I say hate, I mean _hate._ I can't go in them without nearly passing out. Something about them just absolutely terrifies me, making it impossible for me to go in them, nevertheless actually have to _stay_ there! Kat nodded sadly.

"I know dear, I know. But you need to be in here so you can get better."

I nodded slowly, trying to let the nausea pass. Kat gave me one last encouraging pat on the back before standing up. "Well, I better go let the nurse that you're awake," she said. She smiled at me then disappeared around the corner of the door.

I sighed and lay my head back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. I just felt like shit at the moment for so many different reasons. I was in a hospital, who knew where the boys were, I had no idea if they knew about me, or if they even really cared. They- or Ringo- were probably off with some bimbos doing who knows what. And on top of all that, there was the fact that someone tried to murder me.

I thought back to Thomas and the dark alleyway I had been laying in, and the many times he punched me.. And that look in his eye when he tried to stab me for the second, and possibly last, time..

I began to shake and a tear or two escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheek. I went to raise a shaky hand to wipe it off, but I stopped when I felt a tugging feeling. Looking down, my eyes got wider and the tears came even more.

There was an IV in my arm.

I closed my eyes and lost it then, sobbing loudly. The only thing I was scared of more than hospitals were needles. For me, sobbing hysterically is calm whenever I see a needle. I guess it's just because I wasn't awake when they stuck it in me. But now that I saw it..

"Don't cry love, it breaks me heart to see you cry!"

I jumped and opened my eyes and stopped crying momentarily. I looked around to try and find the source of the voice that sounded so familiar, and my heart soared when I saw Ringo and the other three mop-topped boys standing in the doorway, beaming at me. I don't know how I missed them before, but I was glad they were there. I was just yearning to get up and go give them a hug, but when I tried to sit out the sharp pain returned. George laughed.

"Calm down love, we'll come to you!" He walked in first and bent down to give me a soft hug. I hugged him back best as I could and smiled. He took a step back and John and Paul stepped up.

"Jesus, you're all black and blue!" Paul exclaimed. He and John shared a look, both of them looking very angry. It passed though, and John gave me a smile.

"But man, are we glad to see you're alright," he said quietly, leaning in to give me a hug. Paul pushed him out of the way and gave me a hug next.

"Yeah," he said, "You had us worried sick right up until we got home. Kat here had to assure us that you were still alive and kickin'!"

I laughed weakly. "I've missed you all so much. More than I thought I would, that's for sure."

John laughed and ruffled my hair before going to take a seat on the couch against the wall. Paul and George followed him as Ringo stepped up to my bed. I could see the concern and anger in his blue eyes as he looked over me. I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest as he moved closer, and when we hugged, I was in heaven. Hugging his pillow was nothing compared to hugging him. He was just so warm, and he smelled so good! I closed my eyes and just hugged him as tightly as I could without hurting myself.

"I was so worried, love. You don't even understand. And on top of that, I missed you so much too. I'm so glad to see you're okay," he whispered, still hugging me. I smiled to myself, completely forgetting where I was for a minute. But then I suddenly remembered the girl in the background. The girl that Ringo was talking to. The girl that Ringo probably.. I pulled away suddenly, wincing slightly at the movement. Ringo pulled back slowly, confusion in his eyes. I just looked away quickly.

"How long have I been sleeping for, do you know?" I asked, looking at George, John and Paul.

"Erm, about a day. I believe that's what Kat told us," Paul said. John and George nodded in confirmation. I bunched up my eyebrows in confusion.

"But wait, the… incident happened on Wednesday. You weren't supposed to come home until about Saturday." I said slowly, still confused. John grinned.

"We cancelled the rest of our tour once we found out about you." He shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world. I, on the other hand, gasped.

"Why would you do something like that? That's crazy!" I exclaimed. Paul laughed.

"Love, don't worry. We played the last concert we had scheduled. We just canceled the rest of the photo shoots and interviews we had."

"Yeah. You're more important to us than all that stuff," Ringo said softly, smiling. It took a minute for that to sink in until I managed to smile back weakly. I studied the drummer's face for a minute, really taking in his features. His brown hair was tussled and sticking up in random places. His blue eyes were filled with concern, and I couldn't help but notice the small bags under eyes showing that he hadn't slept well. There was also the shadow of a beard forming on his face, showing that he hadn't bothered to shave either. That was very un-Ringo like.

I tore my eyes away from Ringo's face and blushed a bit when I realized he was watching me study his face. The bruises on my cheek probably covered the blush though, so I was good.

"I feel bad though, you had to cancel on a bunch of people. Just for me. I'm flattered but I'm really not worth all that trouble. I bet you had a hard time convincing Brian." I said, laughing weakly. I regretted it as a sharp pain stabbed my stomach, making me wince and gasp. Ringo instantly straightened up and looked down at me with even more concern than before. I just waved it off and tried to catch my breath.

"Actually once he found out your situation he went right along with it. He knows how much we care about you, love. Besides, we probably would have left that night whether he gave us permission or not." Paul winked at me. I smiled weakly, and realized that I began to tear up.

"Oh no, are you okay? Are you hurting?" Ringo asked worriedly, wiping a tear that managed to roll down my cheek.

Well, I was in a good amount of pain, but that wasn't why I was crying. I shook my head slowly. "No. I just realized how much I love you guys, and how amazing you four are."

There was a silence in the room, but it was short lived as the three boys on the couch got up and shuffled over to me. In unison, all four Beatles leaned down and gave me a gentle group hug.

"I'm not kidding though. You all canceled the rest of your _tour_ just so you could come see me lay in a hospital bed all day. Nobody has ever done anything that amazing for me, and I highly doubt anyone ever will. I thought I was just lucky when I met you and you lot helped me with Thomas, but now I know I'm truly blessed to know you guys."

"Stop talking like that Mel, you're gonna make poor little me cry!" I heard John exclaim as he buried his head in my hair.

"Oh lord, we don't need John blubbering over here." George groaned, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

They each kissed my cheek again, then straightened up to stand around my bed. Each of them had a big smile on their face as they looked down at me.

There was a knock on the door, causing the four men to let go of me and to take a step away from my bed. A nurse poked her head in, a big smile on her face.

"Hello there Melissa, glad to see you up." She took a step inside of my room, pulling in a small cart with her. There was a plate of food on there and a glass of juice. My heart dropped when I saw what other contents lay on the cart. "We're just going to draw some blood, take some tests. Just to be careful."

As she said this, my heart sped up and my breathing got quicker, tears forming in my eyes. Ringo noticed this and frowned. He sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. I didn't even object, just squeezed his hand tighter. The butterflies in my stomach went completely unnoticed this time. The nurse paused as she got the needle ready, staring at the boys.

"Um, you boys are going to have to leave the room for a minute."

Paul nodded, and nodded at the others. "C'mon lads, lets leave her to freak out on her own." He smirked and winked at me. The most I was able to do in my frightened state was just glare at him. George, Paul and John started walking towards the door, but stopped when they realized Ringo wasn't with them.

"I'm not leaving her," he said firmly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze at the same time. This time the butterflies in my stomach were a bit more noticeable. Paul, John and George gave each other knowing looks, and the nurse just frowned. She was getting ready to protest, but I cut her off.

"Let him stay. Please," I squeaked. She hesitated, then sighed. She carried on with getting the stuff ready while the others left the room. Ringo took to gently rubbing hihs thumb across the back of my hand. I looked up at him, only to find he was already looking at me. "You didn't have to stay, you know," I told him. He nodded.

"I know. But I wanted to."

I smiled weakly up at him. He returned it and leaned down to softly kiss my hair. The nurse walked over and proceeded to wipe the spot where she was going to stab me. My breathing got faster, and I was nearly full on hyperventilating.

"Oh c'mere love, I hate seeing you like this," Ringo said as he pulled me into him. I buried my head into his chest, my arm sticking out awkwardly for the shot.

"Alright, this'll just take a minute, I promise," the nurse told me. I buried my head as far as it would go and squeezed his hand as hard as possible. I squealed as I felt the needle pierce my skin. Ringo chuckled and rubbed my back soothingly.

It was over quickly, much to my relief. The nurse put a band-aid on and left the room.

"Well love, you're alive. You made it." Ringo gave me another reassuring smile. But there was something different about the way he said it.

"You're not just talking about the shot, are you?" I asked him quietly. He stared at me for a minute, then shook his head. He opened his mouth, paused, then started again.

" You have no idea how scared I was. The whole time after Kat called John and told us you had been stabbed.. I was a mess. I-I had no idea what to do, all I knew was that you were in the hospital in critical condition. The interviews, the photo shoot.. they were all horrible. I couldn't think straight or pay attention. And the concert was even worse. I couldn't even play most of the songs right. The boys had to sing louder and get the crowd to cheer so loud that it covered up my horrible drumming.. My mind was on you. "

When he finished I just sat there, staring at him, trying to hold back the tears. "Ringo.. I had no idea," I said quietly.

"I called you back that night, and you didn't answer. I just figured you went back to bed. And the next day when Kat called.. So many thoughts ran through my head, and regret. I regretted not talking to you longer that night. I didn't have to go, but I did. And I had no idea if that would have been the last time I would talk to you."

This time I didn't even say anything. I just gave him a hug, ignoring the really sharp pain that I felt as I moved. It didn't matter to me, I just wanted to hug Ringo.

After a few minutes of hugging, he finally spoke up. "I do know one thing now, though." I looked up at him, confused.

"What's that?"

"You're coming with us next tour, no question about it."

I laughed softly and hugged him a bit tighter. Although I was in one of my least favorite places ever and in a lot of pain, being with Ringo made everything better.

**HI GUYS! GUESS WHAT, I'M BACK! Please don't kill me.. I got caught up with life and could never find time to write! A lot of you have been harassing me to update, so here it is! Hahah I hope you enjoy it! **** I'll definitely try to update quicker next time, cause I feel horrible for keeping you all waiting for so long! And it's a really short chapter. Oh well. It's still a chapter. SO REVIEW. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**xXxxx**

"Welcome back home Mel!"

I stopped abruptly in the doorway, making Ringo falter and run into me. I heard him say something behind me, but I didn't pay attention. My eyes were filling with tears and starting to overflow as I looked at the sight in front of me.

Paul, George, John, Brian, Kat, and some other birds who I didn't know were standing in the living room, all holding a balloon. There was a big Welcome Back banner across the wall, and in the kitchen I saw a lot of food sitting ready on the table.

I turned to Ringo, who grinned and put his arm around my shoulders. "Yes love, we threw you a party. You're welcome!"

I smiled and ran, well as fast as I could without feeling pain, over to Paul. I gave him a tight hug first, then continued down the line until I reached the first girl who I didn't know. She smiled warmly at me, and I instantly liked her.

"Hello, I'm Cynthia! But you can just call me Cyn. I'm John's girlfriend." She stuck out her hand, which I shook. I looked over at John, confused but smiling.

"Johnny, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" I exclaimed. He just shrugged, but winked at Cynthia. She rolled her eyes, but she smiled all the same. I gave her one last smile before I moved on to the next girl.

"I'm Maureen, nice to meet you." She smiled slightly, but didn't shake my hand. She wasn't as warm as Cynthia.

"I'm Melissa. Thank you both so much for being here, even when you didn't know me!" I told them. Cynthia waved her hand, motioning that it was nothing

"When John told me about what happened, I was horrified! Whether I knew you or not, nobody deserves to go through that! When he asked me to come to the party, I didn't even hesitate. Besides, with as much as the boys talked about you, I felt like I already knew you!" She winked at me. I smiled at her, really starting to like this girl.

"I hope they didn't say anything bad about me.." I said, glaring at all four of the boys. Paul grinned.

"Oh we told them all about how horrible of a person you are!"

"Yeah," John said, joining in. "We told them about how you treat us like slaves, and not just working ones either!" I gasped and narrowed my eyes.

"John Lennon, you kn-"

"We also told them about how you eat all of the food in the house, making us starve!" George chimed in, cutting me off. I gently smacked his shoulder.

"I do not!" I exclaimed.

"And let's not forget about how loud she snores! Keeps all of us up all night. We're dead tired the next morning for rehearsal!"

I turned and smacked Ringo gently on the shoulder after he finished. He laughed and winked at me. "Only kidding love. You sleep like an angel, looks and everything."

I heard Cyn "Awh" and the other boys laugh. Maureen was silent.

"He would know, trust me. Wouldn't leave that hospital room after you fell asleep for nothing," George said.

"It's true! We had to bring him food more than too many times!" Kat said, finally speaking.

Ringo turned a little pink when they said this, and I smiled at him. It was so sweet of him to care so much, and I thought it was pretty cute as well.

"Well, at least one of you lot cares about me!" I said, trying to make Ringo less embarrassed. His shy smile turned into a bigger smile and he laughed.

John seemed offended. "Excuse me, we do care! Don't we boys?"

"Hey!" Kat exclaimed. John just winked at her. Kat frowned and crossed her arms.

"Of course we care! In fact, I care more about her than Ringo here does!" Paul said.

"No Paul, it is obviously I who cares about dear Mel more," John argued in a very fancy like voice.

We all watched in amusement as the two Beatles started arguing over who likes me more. George watched for a few seconds, then made his way to the kitchen table with Kat to get some food. Cyn and Maureen were sitting on the couch, watching the boys.

I felt a hand on my arm, and looked up and saw Ringo smiling at me. He pulled me close to him gently.

"I have something special for you," he whispered into my ear. My heart immediately sped up and the butterflies hit me. What was it? What was something special that he could give me?

I gave him a confused look, but he just shook his head. His hand dropped down to mine and he gave it a gentle squeeze before walking off to join the others in the kitchen. For some reason, I felt like someone was staring at me, and when I turned my head slightly, sure enough there was. Maureen was staring at me, though she didn't look too happy. I was really confused, because I didn't know what I could have done to make her angry.

_Great Mel, you already have people you don't hating you. Way to go._

I awkwardly smiled at her, but she didn't return it. My smile dropped and I turned away.

_Weeelll, this is awkward. _

"Aye Mel, come get some of your cake! And the rest of you lot as well!" Kat called from the kitchen. I smiled at the mention of cake and hurried in to join the others. I sat down in between Kat and George, and Cyn, Maureen, John and Paul came in shortly after. Ringo started cutting the large chocolate cake into small squares and passing plates around.

"Thank you Ritchie," I heard Maureen say sweetly to him as he put a piece of cake on her plate. She gave him a big smile, and I was shocked because I didn't even know she knew how to smile. He just gave her a small smile and quickly moved on to the next person. I didn't fail to notice how her eyes lingered on him before she sighed and started nibbling on the cake.

I frowned to myself and wondered what all that was about. But once I saw a hand holding chocolate cake appear in front of me, I forgot all about it.

"Let's get some actual food in you! Two weeks of that hospital shit, I'm sure you're ready for some food!" Ringo said as he plopped it down in front of me. I nodded enthusiastically and took a bite. It tasted like heaven and perfection.

"It might be too late to warn you love, but Ringo baked it so if you die, don't say I didn't warn you!" Paul exclaimed. I just laughed and swallowed my bite.

"Well, I think Ringo did a splendid job. It tastes marvelous," I told him. He smiled and shrugged.

"It was nothing, love." John scoffed.

"Ringo almost burnt down the flat, he did. Never again are we letting him bake."

Everyone shared a laugh at the image of Ringo trying to bake and almost burning down the house in the progress. Even Maureen laughed, sort of, which was another shock to me.

"I never said I knew how to bake! Usually we just leave that up to Mel!"

I nodded. "I don't even know how you guys got along without me." The boys just shrugged and kept eating their cake. There was a silence in the room for a few minutes, until Cynthia broke it.

"So Melissa, how long have you lived here with the boys? I remember John telling me when you first moved in, but I don't remember when."

"Too long.." I heard Paul grunt. I looked up and looked at him, and he just smiled innocently. "Just kidding love, you could never be here for too long."

I just shook my head and turned back to Cynthia. "Um, I'm not quite sure myself, really. Maybe a little over a month? Two?"

"When do you plan on leaving?" Maureen asked, staring at me. The others around the table stopped eating and looked over at her.

I stopped mid-chew, surprised by the question. I swallowed slowly, and placed my fork on the plate. I didn't look up as a fiddled with my hands.

"I uh.. I hadn't really thought about that to be honest," I said quietly. I could feel her staring at me, even though I was completely focused on my cake. I felt a hand on my arm, and I looked to see Ringo standing next to me.

"And it's not something you have to think about, love. You know that." He smiled at me, and rubbed my arm with his hand. I gave him a small smile, but I wasn't convinced. I realized then that I really didn't have any plans. I didn't have any plans for a job, to get my own house.. But I couldn't just live with them for the rest of my life. I had to do something.

"Don't worry about it love. In your situation, we wouldn't even think about letting you leave," George said reassuringly from across the table.

"Yeah," John laughed, "And even if you did try, I'm sure Ringo would drag you back by your hair."

Ringo's face turned a bit pink at that, and he tried to laugh it off. He smiled at me and winked. "It's true. You're not leaving this house under my watch."

I smiled and looked around at the four boys, who were all giving me cheesy smiles. "You lot are the best. A bunch of gits, but still the best." From the corner of my eye, I could see Maureen staring unhappily at her plate. I sighed.

They all laughed and there was a chorus of "We know" around the room. I just rolled my eyes and finished off the last of my cake.

"Oh!" Ringo said suddenly. We all looked at him, surprised. He looked down at me and smiled. "I forgot, I had a surprise for you!" And with that, he walked off down the hallway. Everyone's eyes immediately landed on me, and I was bombarded with questions.

"What's the surprise?" Kat asked first.

"I-"

"Did you know this was coming?" Cynthia asked.

"I-"

"It's probably going to be something you can wear at night, if you know what I mean," John winked.

"John-"

"Maybe it's roses and chocolates! Ringo was always the sweetheart," George said thoughtfully.

"Guys-"

"I could see it being a gigantic teddy bear or something.." Paul said. John was about to say something else, but I cut him off, wanting to finally talk.

"GUYS. I don't know what it is, nor did I know he was going to do something like this." As I finished, Ringo walked in with a long, rectangular wrapped present in his arms.

"Ringo, you honestly didn't have to get me anything," I said as he walked over to me. He just shrugged and placed it down in front of me.

"I figured after all you had gone through these past few weeks, you needed something to help cheer you up."

"But you guys have already done so much for me, with letting me stay here a-and throwing this party and-"

Ringo placed a kiss on the top of my head and pointed to the present. "Just hush up and open it, love."

I sighed and looked at the present. I stared at it for a few seconds before it hit me. _Oh my god.. It couldn't be…_

I gasped and put a hand up to my mouth, and looked up at Ringo. He just smiled and nodded at the present, urging me to open it. The others around the table were looking at each other, utterly confused.

I reached out with a shaky hand and picked up the present, trying to hold back the tears that were coming up. If this is what I thought it was, then I was about to like Ringo even more. I slowly unwrapped the present and when I saw the black case underneath the colorful wrapping paper, I knew. And with that, I started to rip off the wrapping paper viciously, surprising everyone at the table. With the case fully revealed, I had to hold back a sob, only letting a squeak come out.

"Well go on love, open it! Let us see what it is!" Paul urged. I let a few tears escape as I nodded and opened up the case. Once I saw what was inside it, I couldn't help it, I started sobbing. I stood up and pulled Ringo into the tightest hug I had ever given anyone ever.

"I-I have no words right now Ringo. I don't even know where to begin," I whispered, crying into his shoulder. He just stroked my hair.

"It's okay, doll. You don't have to thank me. I know how much it means to you." He said. I pulled away from his shoulder, but my arms were still around him.

"It means so much to me that you would do this. Honestly Ringo, I don't think I've ever been so happy about anything, ever." I kissed his cheek and gave him another tight hug. He chuckled and I could see his cheeks in that cute little blush.

Everyone else around the table was watching us, confused. I sat back down, no longer crying, and was eager to put the brand new, silver flute together. I carefully picked up each piece and put it all together, admiring the shininess of the silver. I heard Kat gasp as she watched me put it together. "Awhhhhh!"

"Awh, Rings went out and got her a flute!" Paul said, smiling. John and George were smiling as well, remembering how heartbroken I was when I saw my broken old one.

"I have to admit Ringo, that was a really thoughtful gift. Better than anything I've ever bought a bird." John admitted. I laughed and Ringo just shrugged.

"Now go on and play something for us!" George said. The rest, save for Maureen, who had been watching the whole thing with a glare on her face, cheered. I nodded and brought the flute up to my lips. My body tingled as the cold metal touched my chin. I blew into it, producing a flat note. I adjusted the headpiece, and blew again. This time, it sounded tuned. I smiled to myself and played a scale. Chills ran through my body at the feeling of playing it again. Nobody could understand how much I missed playing a flute.

I played some songs that I had memorized, and I liked the feeling of everyone watching me as I played. In a room full of talented people, it was nice to be able to fit in somewhere at least. Once I finished, everyone, save for Maureen again, clapped.

"Wow, didn't know you had that in you!" Paul said. I just rolled my eyes. John walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Guess you do have some kind of talent in you after all." I laughed and punched his shoulder playfully. I got teased a bit longer before Kat interrupted with a loud yawn.

"Well guys, it's past my bedtime. I'm gonna go hit the road." She walked over to me and gave me a hug. "I'm glad you're back Mel, and I'm happy for you." I gave her a confused look, but she just winked then walked to the door. Paul followed her to the door.

"I'm taking her home. We picked up the girls so you wouldn't get suspicious as to why there were more cars than people," He explained to me. I nodded, understanding.

"Come on Cyn, I'll go take you home as well." John said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the door. "Uh, would someone mind taking Maureen home? I would, but Cyn and I have a few stops to make." He winked. I gagged, not really wanting that picture in my head.

"I'm sure Ringo could take me home! Right Ritchie?" She asked him, looking hopeful. My smile fell when she asked this, and I felt a few eyes glance at me, then back to him.

He looked really hesitant, and like he didn't know what to say. Luckily, he didn't have to say anything because George spoke up. "I'll take you home Maureen. I need to go to the store anyways and grab some stuff, so it'll be no bother."

Maureen looked really disappointed, but she smiled nevertheless. "Alright, thanks George."

The door opened and Kat, Paul, Cyn, and John walked out. George disappeared to go get his keys, and Maureen was left awkwardly standing in the living room with Ringo. I decided to start to clean up the mess the others had left. Quietly, I disassembled my flute and began to stack plates and cups together.

"Alright, let's get going then Maureen." George said as he walked into the living room about five minutes later. I decided to go and try to say goodbye to her, despite the fact that she didn't seem to be too fond of me for some reason. I put down the dishes and walked over to her.

"Well, thank you so much for coming and it was nice meeting you," I said with a smile, sticking out my hand. Again, she refused to take it. All I got was a small nod. She turned to Ringo and pulled him into a hug.. a tight one, if I might add. I tried not to let the jealousy show, but I guess it wasn't working because of the smirk I could see George giving me. But once Maureen pulled back and kissed his cheek a little too close to the mouth, I couldn't help it. I huffed quietly, turned sharply around and went back to the sink where I roughly washed the dishes.

I didn't stop until I heard the door open and close again, telling me that it was just Ringo and I in the house. I kind of got nervous, not really knowing what would happen during this time.

"You know, you really did sound great playing that flute," Ringo said from behind me. I was a little startled, as he was so quiet walking over to me. I smiled.

"Thanks. And again Ringo, I really don't think I can thank you enough. That was the best thing anyone has ever given me.. It means to much to me," I said. He brushed away a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

"It was nothing," he said quietly, studying my face. This attention made me a little nervous, and I didn't know where to look. I decided on just playing with my hands.

"If there's anything I can do to thank you, just let me know!" I told him. He nodded slowly. I couldn't help but notice he was getting a little closer to my face, which made me even more nervous.

"I can think of something right now," he mumbled, even quieter than before.

"Really? W-what?" I stuttered, getting more and more nervous with each passing second. Ringo didn't reply to that. Instead, he placed one hand on my cheek, and another hand under my chin. Gently, he brought my chin up so my eyes met his. My heart was thumping so loudly, I would be really surprised if he couldn't hear it. He brought his hand from under my chin to my other cheek, so he was cupping my face. My breathing quickened as his face slowly got closer to mine. This was it, it was finally going to happen.

I closed my eyes and leaned in, ready to meet his lips somewhere in the middle. I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest as I felt his lips just barely brush against mine and-

"I'm pretty sure I just left it in the- oh."

Ringo and I both jumped up and away from each other quickly, looking to see who had walked in. And just my luck, there was Maureen and George standing in the entrance, staring. My face turned bright red, as did Ringo's and we stood there, not sure what to say.

"I forgot my purse," Maureen said quietly. The look on her face didn't look too happy. She walked over to the chair where her purse was sitting, grabbed it, marched to the door and walked out, slamming it behind her. George just gave us a knowing look and mouthed, "Sorry," before following her out the door.

There was an awkward silence. Neither of us knew what to say or do. Ringo finally decided to break the silence.

"Mel-"

"I'm uh, I'm going to go to bed. Thank you for all this Ringo. Goodnight." I said quickly, cutting him off. Before he could stop me, I rushed past him and to my room. I collapsed on my bed and couldn't stop thinking about what almost happened.

He didn't bother me at all that night.

**HI GUYS SORRY ITS SO SHORT AND TOOK FOREVER UGH I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON AND I'M SO SORRY. BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. I PROMISE I'LL TRY TO UPDATE SOONER AND JGDSJFKLSDJFLKD**

**And thanks to everyone who reviewed, and if you're still hanging in there with me, I hope you enjoy this chapter! And be sure to leave thoughts, opinions, and ideas! Love you all so much **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**xXxXx**

I think it's safe to say that the week after my return home from the hospital was almost as bad as the days in the hospital. I had somehow managed to get a nasty cold, so once again, I was on bed rest. And I couldn't sleep off the cold, because I couldn't sleep. I kept having these horrible, very real nightmares about the night when Thomas attacked me. I was too scared to go to sleep, so I tried to stay up as late as possible and wake up as early as possible. I was exhausted and felt like shit, so I wasn't very happy. And on top of all that, Ringo and I had barely spoken since that night.

That was the thing that upset me the most. I wouldn't mind being sick and sleepless as much if Ringo and I were on speaking terms. But we weren't, and that killed me. To be honest though, I hadn't really tried to talk to him. In fact, I ignored him whenever I saw him. So it was pretty much my fault that we weren't talking.

The others noticed that something wasn't right between us, and John was constantly cracking jokes to ease some tension. Paul even asked me one night what happened, but I told him to just ask George. It had been a rough week, and my cold wasn't getting any better so I didn't think my mood would either.

I sighed and put down the book I was reading and decided to get up and make myself a cup of tea. Slowly, I crawled out from under the warm covers of the blanket and stood up. The minute I was standing, I nearly fell down again because a sudden dizziness overcame me. There was nothing more I wanted than to lay back down, but except maybe tea.

I felt like a zombie as I trudged out of my room and to the kitchen, passing two of the boys along the way. They looked like they were ready to make jokes, but when they saw the look on my face, they decided against it. I walked into the kitchen and saw George and Ringo sitting at the table, eating some sandwiches. They both gave me smiles as I walked in, and I returned it with a small nod and smile.

"Nice to see you're still alive," George joked. I gave a weak laugh as I grabbed a cup from the cupboard.

"Funny," I croaked. They both winced at the sound of my voice.

"Wow, you sound terrible right now," Ringo said, a hint of sadness in his voice. I nodded without turning to look at him. "I feel like it."

"Here," George jumped up, "Let me get you a cup. You take a seat and I'll get some crackers as well." He grabbed my wrists and pulled them down so I let go of the cup. He smiled at me, which I returned, and decided to listen to him. I took a seat across the table from Ringo, and kept my eyes on the ground.

The only noise that filled the room was the sound of George preparing my small snack for me. The few times I did glance up, I caught Ringo staring at me. I tried to ignore it and stay focused on the ground.

"Here you are love," George said, placing down a cup of tea and a plate of crackers and cheese in front of me. I smiled gratefully at him, and picked up a cracker and started munching on it. It was nice to finally have some food in my stomach, and I smiled at George again as I chewed.

There was some tension in the room as Ringo and I kept glancing at each other, then looking away when we realized the other caught us. George saw this and decided to let us be.

"I'm gonna go see what those two gits are up to now," George said as he stood up. He gave me a look then walked out of the kitchen. Once the sound of his footsteps disappeared, a painfully awkward silence filled the room. Neither of us knew what to say, or how to start it.

Ringo cleared his throat and looked up at me. "So what exactly is wrong with you?"

I finished chewing a cracker slowly and swallowed. "My head feels like it weighs ten tons, I can't breathe out of my nose, my throat is on fire, and I'm sore everywhere, all that fun stuff."

Ringo gave me a small pout. I couldn't help but notice how cute he was when he did that. Ugh.

"Well I hope you start feeling better, love." My heart skipped a beat. I forgot how much I liked it when he called me that. "If there's anything I can get you, please tell me and I'll get it."

I smiled at him, but shook my head. "It's fine Ringo. I don't think I could possibly ask you for anymore favors after you got me the flute."

He reached across the table and touched my hand lightly. "Mel, I'm serious. If you need anything then just ask. I want you to get better. Okay?"

I nodded, and he gave my hand, along with my heart, a squeeze. I missed talking to him so much.. I didn't even know why I was ignoring him. Well, that was going to end now. I wanted him back.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I was cut off by the ever-so-rude John Lennon.

"Ready to go, Ringo? Paul and I don't want to wait forever, ya know." He crossed his arms and tapped his foot to prove he was becoming impatient. Ringo gave me an apologetic look and stood up.

"We'll continue talking later," he told me. He walked over to the closet in the living room and grabbed his coat.

"Alright, let's go then." He stood by the door, waiting for John and Paul. The three of them waved at me before leaving the flat. I sighed and turned back to my crackers.

"Looks like it's just you and me for awhile," George said, startling me. He laughed at my expression and took a seat across from me. He grabbed my plate and pulled it more towards him so he could grab a few crackers.

"Where are they even going, do you know? And how come you're not going with?"

George took a minute to finish chewing and swallow his cracker before answering. "They're going to meet up with the girls at a diner. Cyn, Jane, and Maureen. I'm not going cause I don't have me a bird to meet up with. Of course they offered to find me one, but why waste my time when I could stay at home with a better, prettier lady?"

I scoffed, but still smiled. "Yes, I'm sure my messy hair, snotty nose, and red cheeks are the picture of beauty." He shrugged and stole another cracker.

"Your cheeks are a very pleasant rosy color!" he said defensively. I smiled and shook my head. He was very sweet.

"Well thank you for staying home with me, it does mean a lot. Especially when you could be out with date worthy girl right now, having fun."

"Who says I'm not having fun here? Besides, you are a date worthy girl, I'm just sure Ringo wouldn't be very happy with me if I stole his bird from him," he winked. My face fell a bit.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He does have Maureen after all," I mumbled. George still heard though, and he frowned.

"That was in the past. He's moved on to bigger, better things now," he said, giving me a look. I sighed and shook my head.

"I think you're wrong George. Why would he go for someone like me, when he could have someone like her?"

"Well, you certainly beat her in the looks department and in the personality department as well, in my opinion." He said, smiling.

"You're just saying that to be nice. I really don't think he likes me, I just think he's just a really nice guy. If he really liked me, then he wouldn't be out at lunch with her right now."

George sighed. "You're right; he is a very nice guy. That's why he's out there with her right now. Maureen is still obviously in love with him, and he feels bad so he's just being nice. John and I made him go, actually. If we hadn't, he'd be here right now instead of me."

I raised my eyebrow in confusion. "Why'd you two make him go?"

"Well, John just thought it would be funny to watch Maureen drool all over him, and I did it because I know you're still confused and want your space."

I paused in the middle of reaching to get a cracker. I pulled my hand back in and let it drop into my lap, then looked down at it so I didn't have to look at George. "W-what made you think that?"

George gave me a look that obviously said he wasn't stupid. "I saw what happened that night. You two were about to kiss. I'm convinced that if Maureen didn't "accidentally" leave her purse in the kitchen, I would have come back fifteen minutes later to find you two snogging on top of each other on the couch."

I felt myself turning an even brighter red, but I stayed silent. George went on.

"And after that night, you've gone out of your way to avoid Ringo. I'm not slow, Mel. I know that you're afraid, or confused."

I sighed and nodded slightly. "It's.. it's just hard."

"Do you want to talk about it?" George asked. I laughed bitterly.

"I may as well, right?" George smiled and signaled for me to go on. I sighed and played with my hands in my lap nervously. "I know I shouldn't be scared, because he isn't Thomas. I know that. But a big part of me is still scared because.. well Thomas wasn't like that when we first started to go steady. He was sweet, and compassionate, and really caring. And then something just.. snapped inside of him and next thing I know, it's like Lucifer himself had taken over his body."

George stretched his arm out on the table and wiggled his fingers, signaling for me to put my hand on the table, so I did. He grabbed it gently and looked at me. "I can promise you that Ritchie would never, ever do such a thing. Oh you should have seen how angry he was when he found out what happened to you. I don't think I've ever heard him threaten anyone before, but man, were those threats flyin'." George laughed. I suddenly remembered the looks of anger in his eyes at the hospital and inwardly smiled a bit.

"He cares about you so much, Mel. I don't know how you don't see it! He always has this dumb smirk on his face when he's around you or talking about you, when you're reading he always steals glances at you, if you fall asleep on the couch he makes sure to cover you up, and lots more. He bought you a flute! John and Paul never let 'em hear the end of it! It's pretty obvious Mel," he laughed.

I shrugged and smiled slightly. "Guess I'm just blind to these things. I'm just so used to being treated like dirt and like I'm worthless."

George shook his head. "Well you're not worthless to him. Or any of us for that matter. We all love you Mel. You've become a big part of our lives, and changed all of us at least a little bit for the better!"

I smiled, happiness flooding through me. But it came to a quick end when my mind went back to Thomas. My smile fell again. "I just don't know.. I'm just too broken for him. He deserves someone that isn't scared all the time."

"Well Ringo wants to fix you. I understand if it's too soon for you, love. That makes perfect sense. But don't shut him out forever, because your past doesn't define what your future will be like."

I let that sink in for a bit. Maybe George was right. But me being me, I just had to be Miss Negative Nancy. "Well, I still just think he's being nice to me." I wouldn't believe that he actually like me. I couldn't believe it.

George sighed, dropped his head into his hands, and shook his head. "You are impossible, woman!"

I smiled. " I know. Now stand up so I can proceed to squeeze you to death with the tightest hug you'll ever receive," I said, standing up and walking over to him. He stood up and instantly I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed tightly. Pretty soon, he was pleading for me to get off. I laughed and let go.

"What was that for?" He asked, smoothing out his shirt. I just shrugged.

"For being a great friend slash listener slash advice giver." He smiled.

"Well, if there's any way I can ever help you, don't hesitate to ask." I brought my hand up to my chin thoughtfully, humming.

"Well, there is one thing you can do for me," I told him. He raised his eyebrows.

"What's that?" He asked. I grinned.

"Make me some soup!"

**xXxXx**

I was awoken from my nap around the early evening time when there were loud voices coming from the living room, so I assumed the boys were back. I groaned and shifted so I was lying on my other side, facing the wall, not the door.

"She's been asleep since around 2, so she's probably still sleeping, knowing her," I heard George say from the hallway. Who he was talking to, I didn't know.

"Well let's not disturb her then. Let her sleep, and we'll just go out tonight without her!" I almost groaned at that voice. It sounded a lot like Maureen. "C'mon Ritchie, let's go get some tea."

"You go on, I'll be there in a minute love." My heart dropped a little, hearing him call her love. I just buried my face deeper into my pillow and tried my hardest to not look up when I heard the door creak open. Quiet footsteps made their way over to my bed, and soon enough I felt my bed shift as extra weight was added. He didn't move for a minute, and I tried my hardest to make my breaths deep so it seemed like I was asleep.

"Mel," he said softly, shaking my gently. I kept pretending to be asleep. He sighed and tried again. And again. And again. Finally, he just gave up on that method. I thought he was going to give up all together, but I was very surprised when I felt his lips against my cheek. He kissed it softly, and then trailed his lips up to my ear. "Mel, wake up love," he whispered softly. I couldn't pretend anymore after that. I pretended to wake up, sleepily blinking and throwing in a yawn for effect. He grinned. "I knew that would wake you up."

I shrugged, pretending to have no idea what he was talking about. But really, my heart was racing at 100 miles per hour. I yawned again, for real this time, and pushed myself up into a sitting position. "So what's so important you felt the need to wake me up, huh?" I asked, crossing my arms. He just shrugged.

"I just wanted to talk. And to ask you how you were feeling."

I smiled at him. "Well, I'm actually feeling quite a bit better now. I made Georgie make me some soup and that nap really hit the spot. Until I was woken up, of course." I narrowed my eyes, and he grinned back at me.

"Well I'm very glad you're feeling better, love. I hate seeing you so sick," he said softly, reaching out to move a piece of hair out of my face. I was glad it was dark in my room, because I could just feel my cheeks burning, and I didn't think it was from fever.

"Yeah, well I hate being so sick. My nose is always running like a baby's and I feel like a herd of elephants are having a dance party in my head." He laughed at that.

"I'm sure that's fun. Say, are you feeling up to going to a club tonight? We all fancy going out for a few drinks and some dancing tonight, and you're invited of course."

I thought about it for a minute. Would I really be up for spending my night in a crowded, hot room full of drunk, smelly people dancing all over? And having to watch Maureen be all over Ringo all night? Not really.

I shook my head. "I don't know if I can handle it tonight. But that's alright, you lot go out and have a good time. Don't let me hold you back."

Ringo pouted but still nodded. "Alright love. I don't want you to go if you're not feeling up to it."

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

He returned the smile as he stood up. "But c'mon, let's go out into the parlor. You can at least chat for a bit." He held out his hand for me to take. I sighed and grabbed on to it, and he helped me out of bed. He didn't let go though, even as we walked out the door and into the living room. I didn't fail to notice all of the looks and smirks – and glare from Maureen- that everyone was giving each other. I pulled my hand out of Ringo's and cleared my throat awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, I didn't have to say anything because the clever John Lennon saved the day.

"Well, it's nice to know you're alive!"

**xXxXx**

"Ringo, you don't have to, really," I said, trying to convince him. But being stubborn, he just shook his head.

"No, I do. I'm not leaving you here alone. Last time I did that, look what happened."

I was quite after that one, as was everyone else. After a short silence, Paul finally spoke up. "Well, alright then Rings. If you really don't want to go."

"You'll sure be missing out on all the lovely birds that'll be there tonight!" John exclaimed, ignoring the glare from Cynthia. She elbowed him in his side and he jumped with pain. "SHE GOT ME!" He hollered out, clutching his side and wheezing over dramatically. "This.. this is the end, my friends… I love you all… and when I'm gone, don't you dare sell my shit for money!"

I rolled my eyes at the drama queen, but grinned at Cyn. She just shook her head and grinned back.

"Don't worry, I won't be missing out on any fun. I'll have plenty of fun with the pretty lady right here tonight!" Ringo said, throwing his arm around my shoulder. I blushed, thinking about earlier how George had said something similar to that. Maureen glared like always, but Paul and John's eyebrows shot up and they looked at each other, then back at us.

"Well in that case, we'll leave you two to it then!" Paul said, opening up the door.

"Just make sure to clean up after yourselves," John winked as he followed Paul out the door. Ringo blushed deeply next to me, and I nearly choked on my spit. Everyone else, but Maureen of course, got a good laugh out of it, and said their goodbyes as they walked out of the door.

Maureen was last, and she made sure to give Ringo a very long hug, right in front of me. I tried to pay no attention to it, and suddenly found lots of interest in the pattern of the carpet. Ringo finally patted Maureen's head, and she let go, but she looked up at him with a pout.

"Tonight won't be nearly as fun without you," she whined. "Won't you come with us? I'm sure Melissa will be fine on her own," she pleaded, as if I weren't standing right here.

Ringo shook his head and stepped away from her. "Sorry, but I'm not taking the risk. You'll have plenty of fun tonight without me, you'll see."

She sighed with defeat and gave me one last glare before finally leaving. I made sure to lock the door behind her, just so I felt a little safer.

"So, wanna watch some telly?" Ringo asked, gesturing to the couch. I nodded and followed him over to the couch. I sat down and pulled my legs up so I could sit comfortably. Ringo plopped down next to me and turned on the tv. He flipped through some channels before finally settling on a movie that was playing. I think it was supposed to be a scary one, but I wasn't sure.

"You really didn't have to do this, you know." I said, after a long period of silence. He looked at me, confused.

"Do what?"

"Stay home," I said softly. He just shrugged.

"It's no big deal. I just wanted to make sure you were safe, that's all."

I smiled, but it faded quickly. "I've been such a bitch to you lately, Ringo. I don't deserve your kindness." I looked down at my hands, like I always do when I'm in these situations.

"Hey," he said softly, placing a hand under my chin so he could pull it up gently. "Don't say that. You have most certainly not been a bitch to me lately, and you always deserve my kindness. Why would you think you don't?"

"I've been ignoring you all week," I told him. He just shrugged.

"Well then I must have done something to deserve it. You don't need to explain anything to me, love. The point is, you're talking to me now. You always deserve my kindness, and you're always going to get it."

I smiled at him, and when he returned it, that really strong butterfly feeling came back into my stomach. I leaned against his shoulder, and died a little inside when I felt him put his arm around me. "It was hard not talking to you. I missed you. You're an amazing person Ringo."

I looked up at him and saw that he was already looking at me, with a huge grin on his face. I returned his smile, then looked back at the telly. I was too comfortable to move, so we just stayed there like that, with me leaning against his shoulder and him with his arm around me. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep.

**xXxXx**

When I woke up, I realized that I was moving, but I wasn't walking. I felt arms around me, and it took me a minute to realize that Ringo was _carrying _me. I ignored the feeling of butterflies when they came back to annoy me, and closed my eyes again. I snuggled my face sleepily into his chest, hoping to fall back asleep. I felt his chest vibrate softly as he chuckled to himself. I smiled inwardly. I actually kinda liked this feeling, being in his arms and all. But all too soon, I felt myself being put down gently onto my soft bed. I snuggled my face into my pillow, thinking he was leaving and I would get to sleep.

Suddenly, I felt a hand brush against the side of my face, and Ringo pushed back some of my hair that had fallen on my cheek. The bed shifted as he sat down next to me. I was curious as to what he was doing, but I froze when I felt lips brush against my cheek ever so lightly. My heart started to beat at that fast rate again, so fast that I thought it was going to just jump out of my chest. As soon as his lips left my cheek, they were on my temple. He planted a light kiss there, and the whole time I just held my breath.

"Sleep well, love," he whispered into my ear. I almost shivered as his breath tickled my ear. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bed shifted again and he got up off the bed. But before he left, he made sure to grab the blanket that was at the foot of my bed, and cover me up with it. He then turned around and left the room.

With my mind – and heart- racing, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time after that.

**Oh hey there guys! Uhh, put down the torches and pitchforks please… I'm really sorry! I'M SO BAD WITH UPDATING. I REALLY AM. I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON UGH. My life has just been crazy for the past few months. BUT IT'S SUMMER NOW! And even though I have a shit ton of AP summer homework assignments, I'll still have lots more time to write! So please, don't be angry and enjoy this chapter. I really enjoyed making her and George have a heart to heart. I always feel like George would be the one to give great advice and be a good listener. And I tried to add some fluff in there as well. Don't worry, more is coming. I already have my ideas for the next chapter! So please, enjoy this and don't forget to REVIEWW! Reviews = happy Ashley and happy Ashley = faster chapters and faster chapters = happy readers! So you see, benefits for everyone! Okay so review now. BYE! **


End file.
